Coming Out
by Gina1982
Summary: Suppose that Willow came out prior to her college years. Would that have made life harder for her and her friends? WillowOC review please!
1. Chapter 1

Coming Out

**Rating**: R

**Copyright**: 2007

**Pairing**: Willow/OC

**Distribution**: please ask

**Feedback**: yes please

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing in nor make any money off the stories that I write. All characters belong to their show creators. Any character that I create is mine and may not be used without asking.

**Summary**: Suppose that Willow came out sooner then season four? Would life have been hard for her and her friends?

**Notes**: This story will explore how hard it is to come out as a high school student, something the show missed out on doing in the college years. I hope that I can capture it properly. There will be some Buffy/Riley in this one also but she may end up with a female later on. I have not yet decided what to do with Angel if anything but some core characters may not end up so friendly.

**Chapter 1**

**(July 4, 1999)**

The fireworks were set to begin as soon as the skies darkened in Sunnydale and the town was abuzz with activity. It was no matter that vampires and other evil creatures loved this night. The children of all ages wanted to make this a fun holiday because it marked the 99th anniversary of the town. Incidentally, the town was founded by a descendent of the current Mayor Richard Wilkins III, Richard Wilkins sr.

Britney Walsh hailed from a small town in Texas and loved the changes that California had brought her thus far. She had accepted an invitation to come live with her aunt Maggie for the summer before she began her studies at Sunnydale's one and only college. This, of course, was a cover up because Britney had been in the United States military for the last couple of years. Maggie had arranged for her to get some schooling in and do security work for her upstart military project, The Initiative.

To her family and close friends, Britney had been an out of the closet lesbian since she was a sophomore in high school. To the military, she did not disclose her sexual preference because life was made very difficult for gays and lesbians in the armed forces. She wanted to get through six years of military service without any drama, thus decided to keep it in the closet. This was the main reason that she decided to come work for her aunt Maggie. She would be able to get some of her time in and not have to hide her sexuality so much. Not having to hide her sexuality was a huge burden lifted from Britney's shoulders and aunt Maggie was very pleased to help her favorite niece in any way that she could.

As Britney walked into the Bronze, a local club that she had heard two of her new friends speak about, she saw a pretty redhead sitting at a corner table alone. Britney was an outgoing person who made friends and got dates easily. She could tell by looking that this girl either was not big in the many friends department, or was troubled. She walked up to the bar and got herself a drink. Having just turned the legal age of twenty-one, she enjoyed doing this on occasion. She then scoped out the packed club for a seat and decided that that corner table with one person was her best bet.

- - -

As Willow shuffled through town on her way to the Bronze, she wondered if she should have let Buffy talk her into going out. Sure, it was a big day for the town but Willow wasn't in the mood for big days. She knew that she had to do this for Buffy, who had gone off for a month after Angel was ran through with her sword. Willow had tracked her down and got all the sad details of how it all went down. She then had talked Buffy into coming back home and trying to pick up her life. Buffy had used this against Willow when she resisted going out for the evening and it worked.

Oz was her first boyfriend and they seemed to have clicked very well for several months. The more he got involved with his band however, the less time he had for Willow. When he was in town, he'd make some time for her but she felt that they were drifting apart. This saddened her deeply because he was such a kind guy and she feared that she wouldn't be able to get anyone else to date the likes of her. A couple of weeks before the big event, Oz had suggested that they still see each other but make it non-exclusive in the event that one of them found someone that they enjoyed spending time with. Willow read between the lines and knew that he had found another person on the road and this was his way of not cheating on her. Part of her felt good that he didn't want to hurt her in that way, while another part of her felt bad that he'd even consider cheating on her.

As Willow entered the Bronze, she frowned at having to see all of the couples. Xander had Cordelia and even Buffy was sitting with some guy that Willow didn't recognize. She ordered a coke and sat down alone in the back of the club with hopes of not being noticed. She didn't think that it would be very hard to not get noticed because Oz was the only person who had bothered to notice her in any way other than friendship. As she sipped her drink and impatiently waited for the fireworks to begin so that she could go home, she saw someone coming towards her. She didn't recognize the tall, jet black-haired woman who wore a leather jacket and cowboy boots. The woman had a well-toned build and deep brown eyes with a confident smile plastered on her face, but why was she walking towards Willow?

"Excuse me ma'am," the woman said and offered her hand for Willow to shake. "My name's Britney Walsh and I was wondering if there is an available seat at this table." She made a gesture around the room to indicate that it wasn't easy to find a seat as she asked the question.

"Sure," Willow said in a quiet voice as she watched most everyone in the club ogling the woman. "I'm Willow Rosenberg," she added and gave the woman a tentative smile. "You're not from here I can tell by the accent." Willow added and then blushed slightly, as she didn't normally take the lead in a conversation with a new person.

"No," the woman replied and sat down next to Willow rather than across from her. "I'm from a backwoods town in Texas and will be going to the university here in the fall."

"I'm going into my senior year of high school and then to college here probably." Willow replied and motioned the waiter to get her another coke. "My best friend would like me to go elsewhere but I think I like it here. I've lived here all my life though and would like to see what's out there." Willow finished babbling as another coke was given to her and a beer to the woman.

"It's a big world out there," Britney said with a smile directed at Willow. "I've been in the army slightly over two years now and have decided to get some higher education in."

"My friend Xander would talk you to death," Willow said with a motion of her arm towards Xander. "He loves military stuff and thinks he's so going to be this big hero when he's watching war movies. He gets a little cartoonish with it though. Sometimes we have to mentally block him out or else he will drive us crazy."

"It's a good career to get involved with." Britney said and watched some other people moving towards the table. "It looks like you've got some companions coming over here. Am I going to be intruding?"

"No, not at all." Willow said in a more withdrawn voice, as her friends joined them. "Guys this is Britney Walsh," she said and then began to introduce her friends. "This is my best guy friend, Xander Harris and his girlfriend Cordelia Chase. This is Buffy Summers, my best friend and I don't know this guy."

As Britney shook their hands, she noticed that this Chase character had a little attitude and her boyfriend was checking out Britney's assets more than a spoken for male should. She smiled at Buffy as they shook hands and then regarded Riley Finn with a big smile. "I know him a little bit." She added and then took her seat next to Willow.

"Yes I met her a couple of weeks ago and showed her around town. That wasn't such an easy task being as I haven't been here long myself." Riley said with a smile and shook Willow's hand. "Buffy has told me a lot about you and it's very nice to meet you."

- - - -

As the sun began to set and Oz played music with his band, Willow decided that she wanted to leave before Oz was finished. She had a nice evening meeting this new woman, chatting with her friends, and felt he would ruin it. There was a time when Willow would have waited excitedly for him to finish a set but not anymore. She now felt that he would go from club to club and pick up girls until he came home. That is when geeky little Willow would be waiting for him to give her a few kisses and speak as few words as possible. "I hate to do this guys but I need to go." Willow said and shot Buffy a no arguing my decision glare.

"Will stay with us and have a good time." Buffy said in the quietest voice that she could and still be heard over the music. "Don't let him get you down."

"If you want to leave," Britney stood up from the table and smiled at the group of friends, "I could come with you. This isn't really my style of music."

"Brit will be a good escort for your friend Buffy," Riley piped up and shot his friend a knowing glance. "I mean, if she doesn't really want to stay that is."

"Will," Buffy stood up in a huff. "You can't let Oz ruin your evening just as I can't let old wounds ruin mine."

"Cool it with the guilt trip there Buffy." Cordelia chimed in and refilled her drink. "Everyone has somebody here and maybe she's feeling like her old geeky self and wants to go home." Cordelia had fit into the group since dating Xander but couldn't help taking a jab or two on occasion.

"I'd rather think she wants to go home so that she doesn't have to spend time with snobs such as yourself." Britney said with a look of anger in her eyes. She never liked those types of girls in high school and wasn't going to let one of them spoil her evening. "I would be more then happy to watch the fireworks somewhere other than outside this club with you Willow." She added with a reassuring smile to the redhead.

"I don't want to intrude on anyone's night." Willow replied softly.

"You're not intruding," Britney said and followed the redhead out the door. "What's with that snob in there?"

"She's badgered me like that ever since I can remember," Willow said as Britney pointed to a Ford truck with tented windows and an extended cab.

"Give me directions and I'll drive wherever you want to go." She said and opened the passenger door for Willow to get in and then rounded the truck and got in the driver's seat. "I think that people who treat others so crappy have more insecurities then they let on." She added and pulled the truck away from the Bronze.

Willow shook her head in agreement and directed Britney to a good spot to watch the fireworks. It was her front yard, the place that she had watched them for the last ten years or more of her life. Until Buffy came along, Willow only had one true friend and they'd watch the spectacle from her yard every year. "I'm used to doing this sort of thing alone so if you like have someone to meet or something…"

"No Willow," Britney said and pulled into the Rosenberg's driveway. "Really, I have enjoyed your company this evening and would like to watch them with you if that's all right." She finished speaking, got out of the truck and opened Willow's door before the redhead had a chance to do it herself. "So, what's with this Oz guy?" She asked as the two headed onto the deck.

"He's my first boyfriend, was rather. I don't know what he is now because he wanted the option for us both to see other people. I took that to mean that he is interested in another person because he has to know that there is no chance in another person being interested in me. I'm sorry for letting that all out; you must think that I'm strange." Willow said and unlocked her front door. "I'll just go inside and get us something to drink and then we can sit here and watch the show."

As Willow went inside, Britney chuckled to herself. Granted, this was not the type of girl that Britney normally went out with but she liked Willow's mannerisms very much. She thought that maybe a change in types of women that she tried to get to know could mean having a chance at a good relationship for once. "I don't think you're strange at all," Britney said as Willow came back out with their drinks. "As a matter of fact, I think this Oz guy is pretty stupid because you are a very nice person to be around."

Willow blushed at the compliment, as compliments were not something that she was used to receiving. "Thanks, I think that you are a nice person also. I mean, you could have had any guy in that club but decided to hang out with me. That's something that never happens, not even with my friends."

"First of all, I don't date guys. Secondly, I'm not trying to be nice to pick you up so don't even think that." Britney said and smiled at Willow, who seemed to get a little nervous. "I mean, I haven't even given you one pick up line so you are safe with me."

Willow didn't want to come off as homophobic but was taken by surprise at Britney's revelation. She had seen a few same sex couples around town but never talked to a lesbian for any length of time. It wasn't that she minded being around them but she never had the opportunity to talk with one. Now that she was talking with one, she didn't know how to react. "I, wow, I don't know what to say but people are people is my view. It doesn't matter what they look like or who they choose to date but a lot of people think that it matters."

"They sure do," Britney said, as the fireworks beginning kept her from thinking of what it was like to come out in a religious community.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N thanks for the reviews, keep them coming.**

**Chapter 2**

(July 18, 1999)

Willow woke up early that morning to the birds singing and a cool braes coming in her open window. She couldn't believe that she actually fell asleep with the window open but supposed that she was to absorbed in her phone conversation to think about it the night before. She had been spending a lot of time with Britney Walsh over the last two weeks. Until the woman had to go away for a couple of days for some required military training. They had gone shopping several times, lunch, dinner, out for early morning walks and long talks on the phone when they were to busy to meet up with each other. Willow enjoyed her time with Britney immensely and hadn't given a second thought about her sexual preference. To Willow, Britney was the woman who accepted her for who she was and not the things that she was good at doing, such as research.

The main thing that Britney had done for Willow, besides give her unconditional friendship, was to help her not grieve over Oz. He had phoned her a couple of times during the last couple of weeks to set up dates and Willow easily declined them both. She felt as though she was finally getting over him and maybe she could have something good with another person. What was shocking to Willow was the fact that the other person could be a woman. Willow had never seen herself as lesbian or bisexual but she knew that there was no denying her attraction to Britney.

Looking back on it, Willow realized how she used to watch the Cordettes at cheerleading functions and the like. She supposed that there was always a form of attraction to girls and she just chose to keep it hid. She never thought that a nice looking guy could have an interest in her and surely not a beautiful woman. As she got out of the shower, she wondered if she could be with a woman or was this just something going on because Britney was nice to her. She wondered how her friends would handle the fact that she was dating a woman and if she would have fewer friends then she had now. As she wondered all of these things, a knock at the door rushed her morning ritual of lazily freshening up her appearance.

"Hey Will," Buffy said with a smile etched on her face. "I got your message and thought that we could hang out this morning."

"I left that message a week ago Buffy." Willow said and forced a smile. "It's all right though because I've been having a good time with my new friend."

Buffy suppressed a guilty look on her face and too forced a smile. "I guess I've been a little preoccupied with Riley and work. His hours have changed somewhat and so I have more free time. We really need some bonding time Will. We've both had a lot going on."

Willow let out a long sigh and looked at her friend. "Buffy I understand that you need companionship to help you over the loss of Angel and all. I get that you like Riley and have a calling that takes a lot of your time. What I don't get is why we're supposed to be here every time you do get some free time. It's like you snap your fingers and we jump. Now I would like some bonding time with you also but I have plans this morning."

As Buffy looked at Willow with a stunned look on her face, another knock at the door broke the moment. "Hey there Willow," Britney said with a hug for her new friend. "I told you that I would be up this early." She smiled at Willow and then regarded Buffy with a casual glance. "Is she going to come with us?"

"No," Buffy said and turned towards the door with an obvious jealous look on her face. "I'll call you later Will. Maybe we can do dinner and I'm sorry. What you said," Buffy looked at her friend sympathetically and continued to speak. "You were totally right and not out of line at all." She smiled at Britney and walked out of the house.

"I guess you weren't kidding when you told me they were a little selfish natured." Britney said as she stepped into the living room behind Willow. "I ordered breakfast and it will be delivered soon. That's a pretty good restaurant downtown that you told me about."

"Yeah it is," Willow said with a smile directed towards her friend. She was glad that Britney was back because she wouldn't have to sit alone and sulk when her friends pushed her aside again. She wondered how long it would be before Britney found someone new and pushed her aside too. She knew that she was fooling herself by thinking that maybe she could have anything with someone other than Oz also.

"What's up Willow?" Britney asked as the doorbell rang. "That's probably the breakfast," she got up and collected the food and paid the young man. "So, what's up?" She asked and began to get the food out of the box.

"I just get in these moods whenever I see how my friends really think of me. I've had a lot going on in my head lately and I think that it's all jumbled up together." Willow said hurriedly and then got glasses for their juice.

"Well maybe if you talk it through and get it out of your head, it will ease up a bit." Britney replied as she began to eat her oatmeal and fruit.

"I doubt that," Willow said and munched on her eggs and bacon with buttered toast. "This stuff isn't bad but do you always eat so healthy?"

"Not always but for breakfast." Britney said and smiled at Willow. She knew that the girl was trying to avoid the subject at hand and planned to find out why. "Look, I don't know all of these people so you should be safe talking with me Willow. I'm not such a bad listener."

"It's not all about my friends." Willow said and sipped her fresh squeezed fruit juice. "I should have ordered myself a gallon of this stuff."

"I'm not going to pry Willow but if you want to talk to me, I'm game to listen." Britney said and refilled Willow's glass. "We've all got issues in our lives you know? It's just good to have a friend that you can depend on to listen."

"I thought that I had that with Buffy and I do most of the time. Just sometimes she gets a little self-centered and forgets that others need to talk on occasion minus her." Willow said and began to finish her breakfast. "I just wonder, how did you know that you were gay?"

Britney had been waiting for this question. She had grown to like Willow's company a great deal and wanted a sign to know if she should keep it at the friendship level or begin to pursue something more. "I just knew that watching Dana Scully rather than Fox Mulder on the X-files was different." Britney smiled and was glad to see that Willow was smiling too. "The hardest thing was coming out to my family and friends but I wouldn't do it any other way now.

Willow finished her second glass of juice quickly and then looked down at the floor. It was now or never, she was going to go for broke or stay silent forever here and now. "I think that I might be attracted to women but am afraid that I'm not. It could be just some weird phase that I'm going through or something. Not that being with women is weird, it's just how I word things that's weird I guess." Willow said and realized that she was babbling again. The one thing that she knew for sure was that if there were a babbling contest, she'd win it hands down.

"Well then, find a girl, see if she's interested and give it a whirl." Britney said and smiled at Willow's blushing face. "You have to take a gamble every now and again Willow or you will lose out on so much in life."

"I've never been big in the finding someone department." Willow said and lowered her face towards the floor. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not so big in the friend priority department either."

"I've been told that I have a good eye for situation deciphering Willow. I think part of the problem with the friends is that you are there in a split second if they need you and that is because you are afraid if you're not, they won't like you. So maybe they didn't do it on purpose but they came to expect you to be there subconsciously and now that you aren't, it's sort of like shell shock to them." Britney finished speaking and stood up to help Willow clear away the trash. "As for the finding someone department, you don't have to look very far Willow. I would be happy to take you on a date to see if you can handle this girl thing. If you can, that's great and maybe we could go out again. If you can't, no harm done and we're still friends."

Willow's face went from a big smile to a look of shock in a millisecond. "You really would like to take me on a date? I don't know much about dating because most of my dates ended up doing something with the Scoobies." She blushed instantly as the two headed for the kitchen.

"Scoobies?" Britney questioned with a smirk on her face. "Did your friend Xander come up with that name?" She stifled a chuckle so as not to offend Willow, as her pager went off.

"Yes he did," Willow said still blushing. "It's sort of corny but it fit at the time."

"I hate to do this Willow," Britney pocketed her pager. "I've got to run to work, um, 8ish tonight all right with you? I almost forgot to answer your other question Willow. I really would like to take you out. You are a really nice person and I love being around you." Britney smiled as they said good-bye.

- - - - - -

"Hey aunt Maggie," Britney said as she ran into the house. "What's up?"

"I have the plans for the set up of the compound. You and Graham will be in charge of wiring everything up, as the government doesn't want to hire any outside companies. We want to get this thing up and running by November if at all possible." Maggie moved her hand around the diagram in a rushed manner. "There can be no mistakes Brit. You will make a big climb in the ranks if this all goes off without a hitch, by the spring I'd guess."

"What's up with this mayor and how about this mystic super soldier, the slayer?" Britney asked, as she scrutinized the diagram with her eyes.

"The mayor has some crazy plan to destroy everything." Maggie said and poured them both a strong drink. "We will let this slayer take care of him, which will enable us to get our operation off the ground without outside interference. Riley is getting his assignments as we speak. These demons have got to be of some use in some way to our government and that is our main goal here." Maggie said with a sly smile on her face.

"Well being promoted early sounds great to me," Britney said and finished her drink. "I'll go check in with Graham and then I have a date." She smiled at her aunt and walked out of the room.

- - - -

Willow sat nervously and waited for her date. She and Oz had very few real dates in their relationship and she didn't really know what to expect. Most of their time was spent with the rest of the gang, which meant not much practice on how to go on a date. Oz wasn't your most talkative person in the world either, which meant conversation was limited. He was the opposite of Britney in that aspect and many others from what Willow could gather. She hoped that this date would go well and that Britney was understanding when it came to the not much make out experience on Willow's part. If things progressed to that level, which Willow grew more nervous about the more she thought of it.

As Willow was wondering if she should change her clothes for the umpteenth time, a knock at the door stalled her thoughts. She wondered if she should rush to the door or wait a few seconds. She thought that if she rushed, it would make her seem to eager and maybe give off a signal that she was an easy type of girl. If she was to slow at getting to the door, it could make her seem to be backing out of the date all together, thus making Britney to be overly cautious about how she handled the date.

As Willow opened the door, Britney smiled at her and handed her a rose that had the thorns plucked out of it. "Are you ready to go?" She asked and held out her hand for Willow to take hold of.

"I'm a little nervous," Willow confessed. "Even when Oz and I dated at full tilt, well the tilt wasn't very full and so I'm not really sure how this all works and I'm babbling again." Willow stopped her babble fest and looked at the ground.

"I like the babbling Willow." Britney replied and opened the truck door for her. "I hope that it's all right for me to have chosen a place just outside of town for this date. I thought it might help you relax more without the fear of running into your friends."

"I think that's a good idea." Willow said and smiled at the gorgeous woman. "Not that I want to hide anything from them forever or anything. I just think that I need to get used to this before I go spreading the word about my new dating style." Willow added quickly to explain her meaning more clearly. She didn't want Britney thinking that she wanted to remain closeted forever and back off for that reason.

"I understand Willow," Britney said and held her hand once more as they drove off into the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N thanks for the reviews, keep them coming.**

**Chapter 3**

(August 18, 1999)

Willow sat in her room waiting for Buffy. The two were actually going to get in some of that overdo bonding time today. The start of the new school year was fast approaching and they were going to embark on their yearly ritual of school shopping, lunch and then n afternoon movie. Willow was glad to finally get to spend the day with Buffy and hoped that everything went according to her plan. They would get the school shopping out of the way and then over lunch, Willow planned to come out to her best friend.

Willow and Britney had gone on a few dates and spent a lot of quality time together over the last month and, thus far, her secret was kept. She liked Britney a lot but had not made that big intimacy step with the woman as of yet. A few times, things got a little passionate but Willow always backed off and worried that it was going to cause Britney to think that it would never happen. In all actuality, on this day, their one-month anniversary, Willow hoped that she would be ready for that step. Britney had been so patient and understanding with Willow but she feared that the woman would not be able to continue that considerate behavior. With Oz, going beyond the make out stage was rarely an issue. With Britney, Willow knew by the actions that the woman had to keep her hormones in check more than once. She would always assure Willow that it was all right and for her to take all the time that she needed but Willow still wondered if it was truly all right. She wondered if she would even be an adequate lover for the woman who had more experience then she did.

As Willow touched up her face, her thoughts shifted from worry over Britney to worry over Buffy. She had often read about stories of lesbians coming out sessions that did not go so well. She feared that she would not be accepted by her best friend and ridiculed more at school then she already was. She knew that if this was the lifestyle that she really wanted, she would have to take her lumps on the chin and keep on trucking. She knew that there would be many lumps from people but prayed that they wouldn't come from her friends. She had chose to come out to Buffy first and then planned to do it slowly to others with hopes that it would ease the drama that she would have to face.

Britney had told her a few stories of her own coming out experience some years ago. She had faced a lot of heat from her peers and lost many people that she thought were her friends. She had even had an act of violence committed against her by a devout church member, who claimed that Britney was going to corrupt the other kids at school. Britney's own father threatened to have her moved to a private school so as not to diminish their status in the community. Britney's mother shed tears but was supportive of her decision as was her aunt Maggie. In fact, Britney had told Willow that her aunt Maggie was her strength in those dark hours in which she lost many friends and her popularity status in school.

As Willow's mind continued to wander on such topics as how many other kids at Sunnydale High were in her shoes, Buffy's booming voice interrupted her. "Will come back to earth!" The slayer shouted and Willow snapped her head around. She could tell that Buffy had been there for quite some time by the expression on her face.

"I'm sorry Buff," Willow said and blushed slightly. "I was thinking of my, um, my plans for school. You know, how I should dress this year, who is going to torment me, things like that."

"You worry too much Will," Buffy said and smiled at her friend. "So are we ready to fight the crowds?" Buffy said with a laugh and they headed out on their day of bonding.

- - - -

Britney and Graham sat at a small diner having a quick lunch. They had been working overtime to get the security system installed for the initiative program, which was to be in full operation by January. It was a tall order but the two were willing to do it to further their careers. Neither was privy to all of the details on how the operation was to work as of yet but they were both excited to have been given such a huge responsibility. Neither liked the idea that, once they set everything up, the codes would be changed so that only Riley Finn and Maggie Walsh could get into the facility on their own. They were the higher ranking officers however, which meant that Graham and Britney could not say how they disapproved of the decision.

"So how are things going with you and this young lady that you have been hanging with?" Graham asked in a casual tone, with a big grin on his face. He and Britney had known each other for a short time but had many discussions on their likes for the feminine persuasion.

"Willow is a great person and I like her a lot." Britney said and returned his grin. "No, we've not made the big score yet but I have patience."

"Whatever it takes to get the score right?" Graham said and laughed heartily.

"No, it's not like that. I really think that she's great and I want this to work." Britney said and finished her drink. "Say, did you find out about that other slayer for aunt Maggie?"

"I sure did," Graham stated with a smirk. "I got a picture and everything. She's one hot chick I tell ya! I think Maggie is going to handle the rest of it from there though."

"What is the rest of it?" Britney asked in wonderment. She loved her aunt Maggie but found it odd that, once the officers got things going so far, things became secretive from them with exception of a few members of the team.

"I'm not sure," graham was lying and Britney knew it. The question was, should she pull rank on him or wait this out and see what was on the go.

She stood up from the table quickly and excused herself. "I want to go see if I can catch a nap before my big date tonight." She said with a sheepish grin. "We had a long night and I hope tonight is a long night for me as well." The woman winked at Graham and walked out of the diner, leaving him with a feeling of mistrust.

- - - -

As Willow and Buffy finished their lunch and ordered another beverage, Willow decided that now was the time. The two had a nice morning with the shopping and Willow hearing nothing but about Riley. She thought he was a nice guy and all but one could only hear how great another person was for so long before they grew weary. She knew that sounded a little selfish on her part but three hours discussing nothing but one person was a bit much also. She was willing to listen if Buffy had a problem, wanted to have a casual chat or even wanted to talk about the man some but that was overkill.

"Can we talk Buffy?" Willow probed gently and hoped that they wouldn't have to spend another three hours on the subject of her sexual preference.

"Of course," Buffy said and began to devour her second helping of fries. "What's up?"

"Well, I have someone in my life." Willow began to speak with a tinge of nervousness in her voice. She couldn't believe that she was actually going through with this and knew that once she spilled the beans, there was no turning back.

"You and Oz aren't back together so who is the lucky guy?" Buffy said with excitement thick in her voice. She was so happy to hear that Willow too had someone special in her life and couldn't wait to meet him.

"That's just it Buffy," Willow clamped her hands together and swallowed hard. It was now or never she knew, as she straightened herself up and cleared her throat. "It's not a guy Buffy. I'm gay and it's Britney Walsh." Willow let the words fly out of her mouth before she had a chance to recoil them and now all she had to do was wait.

Buffy nearly dropped her drink to the floor when she heard what Willow had just said. She looked at her friend, out the window and back at her friend again. She didn't know what to say to her friend, as she never saw this coming. She scooted her chair backwards as she always did to indicate that she was finished eating. She then thought that Willow would take that as she was trying to move away from her and mentally kicked herself. Her mouth opened and closed again without a word coming out of it, as Willow dejectedly got up from the table and walked off.

"Hey Buffy," one of the Cordettes said, from behind her. She had sauntered up to badger Willow and heard the entire conversation without being noticed by the two friends. "Either you don't want to be friends anymore or you need to pick yourself up and do damage control."

Buffy snapped into action quickly and jumped to her feet. She spun around facing the Cordette and pointed a finger in her face. "If you start trouble with this…"

"No, I wouldn't dream of doing that Buffy." The Cordette said and turned to leave.

As Buffy looked into her face, with a shocked look at who was standing before her with a compassionate look on her own face, she knew that she could believe her. "Thanks," she said and raced out after Willow, leaving the Cordette wishing that she had the guts to do what Willow had just done.

As she easily caught up to her friend, Buffy vowed to keep her self-composure this time. She had been shell-shocked by Willow's revelation but she was her friend no matter what. "Hey Will," Buffy said softly and reached out for her arm. "Look, I was shocked by what you told me in there is all. It was a stupid and quick reaction to something that I never expected to hear." Buffy continued speaking and pulled her friend into a tight hug. "Nothing will ever come between us Will, especially not something like who you want to date, I promise."

Willow returned the hug with a joy-filled look replacing the hurt one on her face. "Oh Buffy, you don't know how glad that makes me feel inside. I was so afraid that nobody would like me and that you all would treat me like I have the plague."

"I would never do that to you Willow and if anyone else does," Buffy gave her best slayer in mid fight battle look, which made Willow laugh, as she wiped her tears. "I'll be here with you every step of the way, you can count on that Willow." Buffy assured her friend, as they made their way back to the car.

- - - - -

Willow and Britney got back to Britney's apartment at nearly midnight. The two had gone out to celebrate their one month anniversary with a very expensive dinner, dancing and walk along the beach. They had discussed how things went with Buffy and Willow's fears about coming out to other people. They had discussed the inner turmoil that Britney had gone through before she came out and how it felt like the world was lifted from her shoulders once she finally opened her mouth and said the words. They had also discussed society in general and how they were looking forward to being there for each other through whatever fall out came of this, as Willow outed herself to more people. "Willow," Britney began to speak as the two settled on her sofa with drinks in hand. "I'm very happy that you gave me a shot to go out that night. I really like you a lot and want you to know that I am here for you for whatever it is that you need." She finished speaking and kissed her girlfriend gingerly.

"I'm glad that I got up the nerve to admit things to you Britney. I like you a lot and am sorry that I've been a little slow on the other aspects of our relationship." Willow blushed, as she still was not a good talker when it came to topics of a more intimate nature. She wished that she were better at many things but knew that she would have to make do with what she had for the moment.

Britney pulled the redhead into her arms and kissed her as gently as she could a few more times. "Willow, sex is a very nice part of a relationship that is supposed to be used as another means of affection. When we do get to that place, I want it to be the perfect time for you. I don't want you to make love with me out of fear that I might leave you or just to make me happy. When two people make love, they both should be ready to fully express their emotions through the making love. If you're not ready, you cannot fully do that and I don't want you having that kind of experience. So, each time my hands get carried away and you aren't ready, tell me to stop. I want our first time to be as special for you as it will be for me."

A couple of tears escaped down Willow's cheeks as her girlfriend finished speaking. She had never had someone put her feelings first and it felt good. "Britney, you are truly an amazing person. I'm so happy that you gave me, the geeky bookworm, a chance. I am so nervous with all of this but, when I'm in your arms, I feel more safe and cared for then I ever have."

"That's because you are Willow and I want to convey that to you." Britney said as she stroked Willow's cheek with her thumb. "I don't want you to have any doubts about my intentions towards you as we move forward with our relationship Willow."

"I don't have any doubts about you Britney. I trust you completely and I so want to be ready to move to the next step with you tonight. I want this to be a special memory for us both." Willow said with a slight reddish coloration forming on her cheeks.

"I want that too Willow." Britney said and stepped up the aggression in her kisses slightly. "If you're not ready to make love with me though, it's all right. I won't be disappointed or dump you. You take all the time that you need Willow." AS Britney finished speaking, she gently leaned Willow back on the sofa and began massaging her lower back. Her kisses eventually moved to Willow's neck and she moved her hands, still under the shirt, to Willow's stomach. In a short time, she had Willow's shirt and bra undone and was exploring her beauty with her hands and mouth. She suddenly stopped and looked into her lover's eyes. "Do you need for me to stop Willow?" She asked with desire showing clearly in her eyes.

"No, I'm ready to do this Britney. I want to be with you in every way possible. I want to feel, rather then hear, how much you care for me." Willow said between short breaths. Though she was nervous, her body liked the things that the beautiful officer was doing to her.

"I'm the type of person who really would rather show then tell," Britney said and began to suckle Willow's breasts with a look of contentment on her face.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N thanks for the reviews thus far. I'm not sure how far I will take this story; it depends on feedback.

**Chapter 4**

(First day of school)

Buffy waited outside for Willow, who was slow at getting ready. Buffy was the one who had to be waited on most every day of school, but especially the first one. She was in no way excited to start their senior year of school but hoped that things would be all right for Willow, if she chose to fully come out. Since the redhead came out to Buffy, she had spent a bit of time with Willow and Britney. She found the woman to be charming and attentive to Willow's sensitive nature and Buffy thought that was great. She often worried about Willow and where she would be in terms of friends if she did not come along. Little did she know that Willow was about to find out where she would be in the friend aspect of things.

"Sorry I'm late," Willow said with a smile, which indicated to Buffy that a phone call from her girlfriend had been the cause of Willow's delay. "It sucks that we don't get to go to school with our significant others." Willow said, as Buffy gave her the once over to make sure that she was fully ready for school. Sometimes Willow got in such a hurry that she would forget the little things such as a purse or to button one of the buttons on a blouse.

"Na, I'm kinda glad that they aren't subjected to the idiots that we have to go to school with." Buffy said dryly, as the two headed up the street for the first day of Sunnyhell High.

As the two entered the building, they both stopped dead in their tracks. There on a big sign, for everyone to see, were the words _Willow Rosengeek is a full-fledge lesbian! She couldn't get any men so now she is making a fruitless attempt at women! "Oh my God!" Buffy finally managed to exclaim as she racked her brain for the source of this despicable display of support._

Cordelia sauntered proudly up to the two teenagers and smiled. "You must know how hard this is for me to keep my mouth shut. I am dating Xander and get hold of such a juicy piece of material to tare Rosenberg apart with and I'm expected to not use it?" Her face displayed a fake look of sympathy as she spoke to the girls.

"Did you do this Core?" Buffy said with a look of rage plastered on her face. The more that she looked at Willow's devastated face, the more she wanted to pound the daylights out of someone, slayer strength be damned.

"I would love to have taken the credit for this masterpiece but I cannot do so." Cordelia said and clapped her hands together, as she laughed uproariously. "I saw this work of brilliance when I arrived at school shortly before the two of you got here."

As Willow tried to sink into the crowd, who were mostly chanting obscenities at her, a light bulb went off in Buffy's head and she sprinted down the hall. "Harmony Kendall, you promised that you wouldn't do this!" Buffy shouted and shoved the girl against the lockers.

"I didn't do it Buffy." The blonde replied and put up no resistance to the slayer's enraged temper. "I would appreciate it if you would leave me out of this all together and I swear that I won't get involved." Harmony further added to the conversation.

"If I find out that you are the cause of this…" Buffy left her words hang in the air and walked off. She couldn't figure out who would go this far to hurt Willow. This was California, not the Bible belt south and things weren't supposed to happen like this in the more liberal state.

As Buffy made her way back to a despondent Willow, Principal Snyder was out in the hall trying to restore order to the dwindling crowd. "Hey Will," Buffy said and put her hand on the redhead's arm. "I'm so very sorry that this happened. Do you want to go home? I'll walk with you and we can chill out for the day." Buffy said and pulled Willow into a firm hug.

"Look, Rosengeek is gonna make out with a hot babe!" An underclassman shouted with laughter in his voice. "No wait, the chick is letting her down easy! We don't get to see the girl on girl action today guys!"

Buffy started to break away from Willow and go after the young man but someone stopped her. "She can't go home or they win and you can't go beating up everyone or it will only get worse." Percy West, the Sunnydale basketball star that enjoyed picking on Willow, said sharply. Percy always saw Willow as a nerd but he wasn't cruel and the current actions by his comrades were bordering on cruel.

Willow looked up to see one of her tormenters standing in front of Buffy. Here was a guy who had it all, yet he was laying his reputation on the line for her. She couldn't figure out why he would do this for the life of her but knew that his words were true. "He's right Buffy," she said in a small voice that oozed with hurt and sadness. "If I go home now, they will do this again and I can't let them push me around like that."

"Ole Percy wants a piece of that girl on girl action!" One of the members of the basketball team taunted, as Principal Snyder threatened to call in security if the students didn't report to their respective classes pronto.

"Will," Buffy started again with immense worry in her voice. She felt a deep pain in her soul for her friend and wished that there were something more she could do to help the situation. "Why don't you at least skip out on first hour. I don't think anyone will mind and maybe you could call Britney. She knows how to deal with this sort of thing and I think that you might need to talk."

"I'll be fine," Willow said with her resolve face firmly in place. "I'm going to go to class and I hope that you all have sense enough to do the same." The redhead finished speaking and walked off. She was showing a brave persona to everyone but inwardly, her heart was breaking and she wanted nothing more than to break down and cry.

- - - - -

By the time that lunch rolled around, Willow's resolve face had turned into a haggard looking one. She had got through most of the morning unscathed until she went into the girls bathroom after third period. One of the more athletic girls was in there and decided that she would take the opportunity to show her displeasure of having a lesbian in the school. After shoving Willow around a bit, she picked the redhead up and was about to dunk her in one of the toilets. To Willow's surprise, it was another popular person that put her reputation on the line to aid her.

Harmony Kendall had gone into the bathroom about the time that Stacy Yates was trying to drag Willow into the stall. She knew that she couldn't do much physically to help Willow but did the next best thing. "Stacy, I will report you to Principal Snyder if you don't put her down." The blonde had said loud enough for Buffy, who was passing the restroom, to hear that something was going on inside. As she entered, Stacy was sneering at the cheerleader in a daring manner. Buffy promptly kicked Stacy's legs out from under her and was able to catch Willow before she hit the floor.

As Willow was leaving the restroom, she heard Buffy and Harmony speaking. "You really didn't do it did you." Buffy had said to the blonde with shock evident in her voice.

"No Buffy but I'm afraid that I know who did. I still have a few connections around here and if they're correct, Willow will be devastated beyond imagination." The blonde had replied and walked out of the bathroom.

As Willow shook her head to clear the haze that the bathroom incident had caused, she was pulled into a firm hug and given a light kiss on the cheek. "Your friend called me," Britney said with a concerned look on her face. "Are you all right?"

"I'm trying to finish out the day but I don't know how that's gonna work out." Willow said, as she felt her body instantly relax in the woman's firm embrace. "You shouldn't be here Britney because most of these kids are under the age of eighteen and I wouldn't want one of them to goad you into something that you could get into trouble for."

"I'll have to take my chances Willow." Britney said softly as she began to rub Willow's tense shoulders. "Let's go out to the truck and get some good food for lunch. I've taken the liberty of telling your principal that you may miss one class today. He's a strange one for sure."

As Britney ushered Willow to her truck, the kids began to yell out that she's lucky Willow isn't jailbait. They also asked things like, can you get into trouble for having sex with an under age female considering it's not real intercourse? Their bantering was loud and continuous, as Britney pulled a short distance away from the school. "I'm sorry that you had to go through this Willow." The woman said and placed a gentle kiss on her lover's lips. "It's definitely not the most pleasant thing in the world to have to deal with."

"It's worse then I realized it would be." Willow said honestly as she opened up the bag of Burger king food that Britney had brought.

"I thought that Buffy was the only one that you had told your preferences to. How did something like this happen if that is the case?" Britney asked and handed Willow a straw.

"I don't know but she's the only one that I told." Willow added and began to eat her lunch, with, surprisingly due to the day's events, ease. "It was the most horrifying thing to see on the first day of school. To think that, in this day and age, people still behave so badly to those who aren't considered normal."

"I know," Britney said with a sad look on her face. She wished that she could have been there for Willow during that awful ordeal and knew that she should have. She instead, had some work to do for Maggie Walsh in relocating the other slayer, who had apparently slipped out of sight. She was in the middle of her work when Buffy called and knew that she would hear it from aunt Maggie for running out as she did. She had classes in the afternoon and more work for Maggie in the early evening. She did not know how the day's busy schedule was going to afford her some time with Willow but knew that she would make it work somehow.

"I'm glad that you could make it Brit," Willow said and finally allowed a tear to trickle down her cheek. All of her hard work at being brave was waning away and she was having her meltdown. Her hands grew a little shaky and more tears fell as she struggled with her words to continue speaking. "I've never felt so alone then I did this morning. I had support from Buffy and a couple of people that I never dreamed would support me but it's not the same as having the one that you care deeply for with you."

"I know it isn't Willow and you don't know how badly I feel that I was not here for you this morning." Britney said and wiped the tears from Willow's cheeks. "I'm so sorry and I hope you know that I will be here as much as humanly possible Willow." The woman said in a soft voice and placed a few gentle kisses on Willow's lips.

As Willow and Britney continued their make out comfort fest in the truck, Buffy looked at Harmony who was standing outside the school building. "Who do you think it is Harmony and can you validate it?"

"There is one person who has not been there for Willow Buffy. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. Her best friend since I can remember should have been there but where was he?" Buffy's eyes bulged out once she figured out Harmony's insinuation. She knew now that this was entirely her fault.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Buffy sat with her hands clasped together tightly and not saying a word. She had confronted one of the cohorts who had done this terrible thing to Willow. She could not believe it when Harmony had made the assumption, but the assumption proved to be true. She had raced down the hall, pulled Xander Harris into a storage closet, and then began her tirade. "Xander there are people who think that you were in on doing this to Willow! Please tell me that it isn't so because you would break her heart and I know that you wouldn't want to do that."

Xander looked at the slayer's pleading eyes and opened his mouth to speak. "There were three of us in on it because this is a straight-laced town and I won't have my best friend thinking that she is like that. I will do whatever is necessary to help her out of this way of thinking. Buff, c'mon, you know that she is only doing this because of her guy problems! I'm doing this because I love Willow and want to help her and that is the only reason!"

Buffy jumped to her feet and grabbed Xander by the shirt collar. "You tell me who else is involved in this right now Xander Harris!" She shrieked at the top of her lungs with a wild look in her eyes. "How dare you say that you love her and claim to be her best friend! Look how you've hurt her you bastard!" Having said that, she punched him with the force of the slayer, as Giles burst through the closet door.

After Giles had pried Buffy off Xander, she quickly left the building and waited for Willow to get to her house. The tears that she cried during her alone time were many and heartfelt because her heart was broken for her friend. Not only because of how she was treated at school that day, but more so because the girl had just lost the best friend that she'd ever had. Xander had been there for Willow since their childhood and now that was ruined. The sacrifice that Willow made to be true to herself was huge and Buffy feared as to how Willow would handle it. "Damn you Xander!" Buffy shouted and kicked the wall hard, which prompted her mother to come running.

After she had explained away the brief outburst to Joyce and cleaned herself up, Willow and Britney's voices could be heard downstairs. Buffy had hoped that Willow would be alone when she broke the news to her and thought that Britney may be just dropping her off. "Thanks Mrs. Summers," Britney was saying as Buffy came into the kitchen.

"I was getting everyone something cool to drink," Joyce explained to her daughter. "It's unusually hot out there today." Joyce smiled sweetly at the youngsters and headed off to the kitchen.

"I got your message to stop here," Willow looked at Buffy questioningly. She sported a worn out look on her face but there was a slight twinkle in her eye. Britney had ditched her afternoon classes to spend some time with Willow and that touched the redhead a great deal. Nobody had ever done that for her before, it was always her doing the rearranging for their convenience. "Britney took me to the beach and we relaxed for awhile. We got ice cream and talked," Willow added with a small smile creasing her features. "I think that helped me a lot and I should have listened to you this morning. I just worried because I've never missed half a day of school unless I've been really sick…"

"Willow sweetie," Britney's soft voice broke the babble fest that was just getting started. "I think that your friend wants to talk with you." She smiled and gave her girlfriend a quick peck on the lips before Joyce made it back to the living room. "Would you like me to go in the kitchen with your mother so that you can talk privately?" Britney asked Buffy in the same soft voice.

"No," Willow interjected before Buffy could reply. "I want you to stay here if that's all right. I don't want you to feel as if there are things that you can't be with me for."

Buffy had wanted to discuss this with Willow privately but knew that she couldn't go against Willow's wishes. "Whatever you feel comfortable with is fine with me Will." Buffy replied but Britney could tell that Buffy had a different idea. She knew that the blonde was very protective of Willow and hoped that it was just on a friendship level. "It's a rather delicate subject but it's fine if you rather that she stay." Buffy added with a sad look on her face.

"I'd rather that she stay because she's my girlfriend and I'm fine with her knowing everything that goes on in my personal life." Willow said candidly and put her arm around Britney. She feared that what Buffy wanted to tell her was bad and knew that she would need all the support she could get.

Buffy straightened herself and tried to find the right words to tell Willow the shocking news. She wished that there were some other way of conveying this to her friend that wouldn't tare her apart on the inside but knew there wasn't. She thought of what Xander had told her and wondered if there was a way that she could use his words to cushion the blow. She then decided that the full truth was best but maybe his words were true, if only in his mind. "I found out one of the people who started this crap that went on today. It's my fault Willow because I confided your secret to someone. I thought that it would be easier on you if you had another support unit in school and badly miscalculated the situation. I know that it was wrong of me to tell anyone of your sexual preference and I do take responsibility for that." Buffy hoped that she had covered that base properly at least, as she prepared to give the big blow. "Will, I thought that he would help you but he turned on you because he's got this insane idea that you are only into women because of your run with guys, or lack there of."

Buffy's face showed relief as she finished speaking but then she realized that she had to spit it out more clearly. "It's Xander Will," she said as softly as she could and then her heart broke all over again. The image of Willow's facial expression, which looked lifeless and beaten down, would remain with Buffy for years to come. "There were others involved but he wouldn't name names. He claims that he's doing this in your best interest." Buffy began to speak more quickly to indicate the nervousness that she was feeling, as the tears fell down Willow's face.

Britney immediately pulled Willow into her arms and began wiping the tears from her face. She knew enough about Willow to know that Xander was like family to her rather than just a friend. The two had shared many personal trials together and Willow would not handle this one well at all. "I'm so sorry Willow," Britney spoke softly and placed a kiss on her girlfriend's lips. "I'm here for you and will do whatever you need me to do to get you through this."

As Willow's body trembled and the tears flooded down her face, Joyce quickly entered the room with cold drinks. She took charge, got Willow to drink the tea, and then got her a cool cloth to wipe her face. "Willow, talk this over with him and if he truly does care for you as a friend, he will stop this madness." Joyce comforted Willow with a hug as she spoke. "I want you to know that I support you in whatever decisions that you make. People are people Willow and allowed to love whomever they wish." Joyce said and disappeared back into the kitchen.

"She's right," Willow said and stood up. "I have to get control of myself and talk this out with Xander tomorrow." She hugged Buffy, who still had a troubled look on her face. "This is killing me inside Buffy but I'm hopeful that we can work it all out in the end. I have to be because he's special to me since we were in grade school." Willow finished speaking and Buffy returned the hug silently. Then Willow and Britney quietly left the Summers home.

"Are you going to need some time alone Willow?" Britney asked as she helped Willow into the truck. "I understand completely if that's the case."

"My parents are out of town per usual and I really don't want to be alone if you don't mind." Willow said and blushed slightly.

"Of course I don't mind." Britney said, leaned over, kissed Willow lovingly, and then pulled out of the drive.

- - - - -

Later that night, Britney went out to get she and Willow a bite to eat. Before picking up the food however, she pulled into her aunt Maggie's. "Hey," she said with a bright smile. "Did you get any leads on the other slayer?"

"From the data that you were able to procure before you left abruptly, no." Maggie said sharply. "I understand that your social life is important Britney but your work must take precedence over everything. It is imperative that I find this slayer. You signed up for a career in the military and I had to pull some strings to get you in this position. I hope that you understand the meaning of my words." Maggie said sternly but with a loving look on her face for her niece.

"Of course I do aunt Maggie." Britney said, her smile never faltering. "I have some more information that came in via email a short time ago. Faith Lehane is the girl's name and she has been seen near Sunnydale in the last couple of days. So I will keep my eyes open and see what turns up."

"Very well then," Maggie said and handed Britney a sealed package. "Read this material over when you get some free time as well and keep me posted on the slayer."

"Sure thing," Britney said and left the apartment quickly. She wanted to do a more then adequate job for the military but wanted to be there for Willow as well. Though she wanted to advance in the military, she had other career plans in mind for her later life. She however, did have plans to stick it out with Willow for decades so had to juggle her priorities carefully. She knew also that she would not do anything to mess up her military record, thus a fine line had to be walked.

As she picked up the food and drove towards Willows, a figure that looked like the other slayer was visible in her headlights. She did not want to deal with this tonight but knew the consequences if she didn't. "Excuse me, do you need a ride?" Britney asked with a fake smile on her face.

"That depends on where you're takin' me," the woman said and gave a flirtatious wink.

- - - -

Willow sat in her living room waiting for Britney to return with their food. She was a little longer then she should have been, thus Willow's mind was filling with all sorts of scenarios. She thought that maybe the truck stalled, or Britney had simply been sidetracked. She knew that being sidetracked wasn't Britney's normal behavior and then thought the worst. This day had been the worst that she had ever had but Britney being got by one of the creatures of the night would top it off in the worst way possible.

As Willow replayed the day's events in her mind and wondered where her girlfriend was, the door opening softly got her attention. Her face lit up when she saw Britney standing there looking at her. "I thought that something had happened to you because you didn't call and I know that I shouldn't need to know what you do every second but…"

A sensuous kiss from her girlfriend stopped Willow in mid babble. "I'm sorry that I'm late Willow." Britney said and pulled the girl into her arms. "I'm all right though," she added and kissed her several more times. "Work got my attention for a few minutes but I'm all yours for the rest of the night."

"That's a nice thought," Willow said and began to return the kisses. "I think that we should stop and eat this food before we get to side tracked."

Britney kissed the girl a few more times in a more aggressive manner then Willow had grown accustomed to from the woman. "You have a microwave," Britney said with a sheepish grin and continued her assault on Willow's mouth and neck. "I could do this all night Willow," Britney added in a low tone of voice, as she began to caress Willow's stomach. "I just want to show you that when I'm not with you, you're the object of my mental images. I want to show you that I'm there for you in every sense of the word Willow because sometimes, showing gives one a better sense of assurance." Britney further added, then began a trail of kisses down Willow's entire body.

As the orgasmic ride subsided, the two women held each other firmly. It was if they were signifying the lifeline bond between them and never wanted it to be broken. 'Britney I am so glad that you are here for me and I love you." Willow said softly, as thoughts of Xander's betrayal tried to poke their way into her mind, thus ruining her tranquil mood.

"I love you too Willow," the woman replied softly and released her hold on the redhead. "Don't let the day's trash get you down right now Willow. This is a special moment between you and I and there is no room for any of them in it." Britney kissed the girl a few more times and stood up. "There is room however, for your growling tummy so let's get washed up and eat."

- - -

That next afternoon, Buffy sat in a local coffee shop waiting for Willow and Xander. The two had agreed to talk and she was to be the mediator. This was a job that she didn't accept readily but knew that it was best for the two friends to have a reasonable person at the table. The problem was, she didn't feel very reasonable at the moment. She looked up from staring into her flavored coffee and saw Harmony Kendall standing before her. "Are you all right?" The girl asked tentatively.

"Look, I know that you didn't spread Willow's secret around the school and start this mess. What I don't know is that you weren't involved in some way." Buffy snapped in a frustrated tone. She was feeling guilty of her own involvement in the entire mess and knew that she was lashing out at the wrong person.

"No it wasn't me but I do know who it is because Cordy told me." Harmony addressed the slayer with an indignant tone of voice. She didn't have to be here giving this information out, thus demanded a little respect for her efforts.

"I'm sorry," Buffy mumbled and took a bite of her creamy pie. "Look, I was the one who told Xander about Willow in hopes that he could help her with the kids at school. It backfired on me and I'm in a pretty fowl mood because of that."

"I'm sorry," Harmony offered in a half-sincere tone of voice. "Anyway, Core got the keys so that Xander and this college oriented person could get in and set up the sign."

Buffy's eyes went wide and she jumped to her feet. "That bitch was setting Willow up for a fucking joke of some sort!" Her rage showed clearly in her eyes as she started for the door. "That will be the last time that Britney Walsh gets to make a move like that one anyone!"

Harmony hesitantly grabbed hold of the enraged slayer's arm to stop her quick movement. "No Buffy, I'm not sure if they are in college or work there but it's not her. Core didn't know the guy's name." As the blonde finished explaining, Willow and Britney walked in the door, followed by Xander who came in the back. "I guess that I should take a hike," Harmony said and started for the door.

"Wait," Buffy said and put her hand on the cheerleader's arm to stop her from leaving. "I think that I may need a reasonable person and you're it. I will explain later Willow."

"There is nothing to reason over," Xander barked and gave Britney a death glare. "She's tainting Willow's mind with this lezzy mojo and I want it stopped!" He spun around towards Buffy, who tried to remain neutral.

"Xander, I am gay and that's the bottom line!" Willow shouted angrily, though a deep hurt was seen in her eyes. "Britney is my girlfriend and did none of what you are suggesting."

"Will, in the end, it was gonna be me and you and we both know it! Tell her that I'm the one that you love and we can get this over with!" Xander tried desperately to pull his friend out of this lesbian drama quickly.

"No Xander," Willow said softly, as the tears fought their way to the surface. "I had a childhood crush on you and you never reciprocated it. I care deeply for you but have since abandoned the idea of there being an us in favor of who I truly am. I am a lesbian Xander and I beg you to accept me for who I am rather than what you think I am."

As Xander trounced towards Willow, Britney and Buffy stood up simultaneously. "You bitch," he muttered under his breath at Britney. "I'm not your ordinary guy who likes to watch two women get it on! I'm a guy who doesn't want this same-sex stuff in my neighborhood when it comes to my friend. I've taken steps to erase you from Willow's life by taking this stand because I'm her best friend and she will realize that I am looking out for her best interest!" Xander shouted, as Buffy caught him by the arm.

"Xander, if you can't accept me for who I am, then we're no longer friends." Willow managed to get the words out of her mouth, as she began to tremble. "I never thought that you would treat me like this over who I pick to date. You are acting totally non-Xander like but until you realize that this is me, I can't associate with you."

Willow's last-ditch effort to make Xander see the true reality failed and he spun towards Britney, w ho was hugging Willow tightly. "You bitch, you will not get away with this!" He shrieked but couldn't get out of Buffy's grasp.

"She's right," Harmony said and stood up from the table. "You're not acting like the geeky Xander Harris that I know and loathe, but rather a new and definitely not improved Xander. Stick to your guns Willow," the cheerleader said and gave the redhead a smile, which garnered a shocked look on Willow's face.

"I do not wish to ever speak to you again! You have crushed Willow and you don't even care!" Buffy shouted and shoved the young man into the table.

"Will, you pick right now, that bitch or me!" Xander seethed with rage in his eyes. "Let me help you Will, we can get through this!"

"I pick her," Willow said softly, buried her face in Britney's shoulder and began to sob heavily.

A/N thanks for the reviews, keep them coming. I know this is out of character for Xander but in the real world of coming out, one doesn't always get to keep all of their friends.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N here's the next chapter, I hope you all like this one. It's setting things up to move along.**

**Chapter 6**

Britney sat on the sofa with a sobbing Willow in her arms. She hated seeing what the girl was going through but knew all to well the sacrifices that had to be made in such a case as coming out. The pain was evident on Willow's face and expounded further with her many tears but Britney knew that all she could do was be there for her. She couldn't take the pain away nor minimize it by any means but hoped that having her there for support would help Willow in some way. At least Willow had someone there for her unlike Britney, who had to face the human monsters on her own. She didn't have a steady girlfriend when she came out, thus didn't have the shoulder of an experienced lesbian to lean on.

"I'm so sorry Willow," Britney said ever so softly and stroked her fingers through the redhead's hair. "If I could have stopped you from having to go through this I would have." She continued and placed a gentle kiss on Willow's lips. "Maybe he'll come around and just isn't handling the shock of it in a good way." Britney further spoke to try to ease her lover's anguish.

"I love you Britney," Willow said in her classic high-pitched voice that was tinged with sorrow. "I can't believe that he did this to me though. I understand if he can't accept me for being a lesbian but to cause others to hurt me mentally, that's just not like Xander." Willow said and buried her face in the woman's shoulder. "I feel like I lost the only real family that I ever had." Willow said as Britney held her more tightly.

"I know exactly how you feel Willow." Britney said, lifted Willow's chin up to meet hers and kissed her lovingly. "I love you too Willow," the woman spoke in a soft soothing voice, as she placed gentle kisses on Willow's neck. "I'm so happy that you are in my life but sad that it has caused you such pain." The words continued to be spoken just above a whisper, as the kissing became more passionate. "You are such a beautiful person on the inside and out and don't deserve the treatment that you have been subjected to." Britney pulled the redhead as close as she could get her and deepened the kisses. "Are you up for this Willow?" She asked and pulled back slightly.

"I think that's your favorite pastime," Willow said and allowed a small smile to appear on her tired face. "I feel safe and loved when your holding me and kissing me Britney. I'm so glad that you came to my table that night." Willow said and kissed her girlfriend.

"I think it's my second favorite pastime Willow." Britney said as she stood up and gathered the redhead in her arms. "My all time favorite pastime is spending every second that I can with you."

- - - - -

Buffy stood outside the coffee shop with a dazed look on her face. Her plan was to find a way to fix Willow and Xander's friendship but those heartbreaking words that Xander forced Willow to say ended all prospect of that. She knew that Willow was put on the spot by Xander and he was in the wrong for doing that but she couldn't help but wonder what more could have been done. She wished that Riley was there to comfort her and make her feel better about the situation but he wasn't. In fact, he was often times absent when Buffy truly needed a shoulder.

"Are you all right?" Harmony asked as she walked out of the coffee shop. The look on Buffy's face was one of utter devastation, so much that it actually made Harmony feel concerned for the broken slayer.

Buffy looked at the blonde who, oddly enough, had supported Willow during her crushing meeting with Xander. "I will be," Buffy added somberly. "I just don't like seeing my friends hurting like that."

Harmony was never one to care about how others felt or the extent of their personal problems but she felt bad for Buffy. "Well, maybe they'll work it out. I mean, how many people does Xander truly have to choose between for a best friend?" Her words came out in true Cordette style but she meant well.

Buffy looked thoughtfully at the blonde and shook her head. On any other day, she would have been ready to pummel the snob for saying such things about one of her friends. Today however, she didn't care how badly Xander Harris was bashed. "I just need a shower and a long nap." Buffy replied in a tired voice.

"Would you like a ride?" Harmony asked and pointed to a snazzy sports car.

"Thanks," Buffy said and followed the cheerleader to her car. "Thanks for giving me a little moral support back there also. You would have been the last person that I would have thought would have done that." Buffy said with a tight smile on her face.

"Stranger things have happened I guess." Harmony said as she pulled into Buffy's drive.

"I don't think that I will need that nap if you wanna wait a few minutes?" Buffy asked with an idea forming. Riley's absence was ever growing of late and she wanted to find out why. She knew that Joyce wouldn't let her take the car and he would never suspect that she was in Harmony's car, if the cheerleader would give her a ride.

"Sure," Harmony said and got out of the car.

"Hey mom," Buffy said and waved Harmony to take a seat while she showered. "This is Harmony Kendall and I need a quick shower."

Joyce smiled at the teenager and offered her a glass of ice tea. "I think your mother has shopped at my art gallery." Joyce said in an effort to make small talk.

"She loves art so I'm sure that she does." Harmony said and accepted the tea that Joyce offered her. "My dad says that she will have to get a second job because she buys so much of it." Harmony added, as Joyce sat down next to her.

- - - -

Xander meandered through the streets of Sunnydale later that night. He was reflecting on the day's events in which he had thrown away his friendship with Willow, his best friend ever since he could remember. Even the shallow snark princess, Harmony Kendall, didn't badger Willow on her revelation but Xander did. He had never thought of himself as a prejudice person in any sense of the word but now was forced to re-examine that idea. He knew that Larry was gay and that didn't bother him, nor the other few people that he had met during his short life. He deduced that it bothered him because this was his best friend and he didn't want her to be, what was highly perceived to be, abnormal.

He also knew a few things about Britney Walsh via his friend and thought that this was possibly the reason for his strong reaction. He wondered that if Willow had found a girl with not such a shady reputation, if he could better accept the fact that she was a lesbian. He shook his head and turned up another alley where his friend was waiting. "Xander," the unseen man said. "Dude I'm really sorry about what happened today. I heard about it from Cordelia. She told me that Harmony was trying to find out my identity but she didn't budge as I instructed. You realize that I'm only trying to help you out here but if Buffy found me out, I'd be in some hot water."

"I understand totally Dude," Xander said with a thin smile. "Willow will come around, I'm sure of it. She values our friendship above all."

"I hope you're right because my boss is very concerned about her niece hurting another woman." Riley said, as Harmony Kendall's car drove slowly up the street past them.

"I was thinking," Xander said aloud, as Buffy crept up behind the trashcan. "If we got a nicer woman, maybe I could accept Willow's insane behavior. I don't know for sure because I just can't see her in that light."

"It's insane behavior for sure," Riley said with a small chuckle. "Like I said, Britney has some funked up hold over Willow is all. We've got to break it and Willow will be free for the boys to do whatever with."

"Hey," Xander said a little defensively. "Look, I don't know what it is that Britney is into but…"

"Chill out Xander, it's all under control. I will get a nice woman to help get Willow away from Britney if you think that you can handle this sicko lesbo stuff." Riley grimaced as he spoke.

Xander cringed, "I would rather see her with a guy. Maybe if we aloud Britney to break her heart she'd come back around. At least if we made it look like Britney did something."

"That wouldn't be hard to do if I get Maggie's permission to use this hot chick we know." Riley chucked and the men pulled away.

Buffy stood frozen behind the can when Harmony got to her. "Are you all right?" The cheerleader asked with a slight amount of concern in her voice.

"Riley is the other guy," the tears flooded down Buffy's cheeks uncontrollably. "He's one of these lesbian haters I think and Xander is stupidly following after him for some idiotic reason."

"Wow," the cheerleader said in a half-uninterested tone of voice. "So you are going to split with the guy right?"

"Technically he's a goner in my book but I can't let him know that yet." Buffy said with a gleam in her eye. "I think there is more to this and I've got to keep him close so that I can snoop. I need to find out who Maggie is, what Britney is up to and how Riley fits into all of this. I'm not sure how to go about doing it yet though."

Harmony didn't really know why she was allowing the geek squad to drag her into this but she smiled at the slayer. "That's easy," the cheerleader said with a smirk. "Hook me up with Riley's pal and we're in."

- - - - -

Britney walked into her aunt Maggie's office that next morning. After spending the night comforting Willow, she was awakened by an urgent message on her phone from the woman. "What's up Maggie?" Britney addressed her aunt in a casual tone but knew by the look on Maggie's face that something major was up.

"Riley is getting sloppy in his work at getting me info on the slayer. I need you to find out something through that girl of yours." Maggie spoke in a rushed tone and waved her hands to indicate the importance of this mission.

Britney thought about what her aunt was saying and connected the dots. She knew that Willow and her friends knew of demons and such but had no idea Buffy was the slayer. "You have one slayer aunt Maggie," Britney questioned her aunt with her eyes and began to get the feeling that something was off.

"Yes and having her as an asset may move up the project quickly. We need to get rid of that pesky Mayor first though." Maggie again spoke in a rushed tone, which left Britney with a worried feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Britney please don't question me at this time. First of all, I need you to go into the Mayor's office and drop what the slayer will need to get rid of him in their laps. I have arranged a special awards dinner for the Mayor to keep him busy. This will need done tonight and there is no room for errors!" Maggie's voice was filled with authority as she spoke and Britney knew that she meant business. What she didn't like was the idea of Riley sleeping with Buffy for information on the slayer. She also began to wonder where Maggie had placed the other slayer and if she was in some sort of danger. She had always looked up to her aunt Maggie but the wild look in her eyes troubled Britney tremendously. "Why isn't Riley getting this job if it's so important?" The officer questioned in an effort to gauge the situation better.

"Riley has another job concerning the security of the lab." Maggie said in a dismissive tone. "The new codes must be put in right away and preparations to move up the project completed. That is the single most important task at hand." Having said that, Maggie stood and left her niece in the room alone.

AS Britney was about to leave the room, her hand accidentally hit a button that was next to the light switch. This action turned a monitor on and what she saw caused a look of shock and horror to spread across her face. "God no, what are they doing to you Faith?"


	7. Chapter 7

A/N thanks for the reviews thus far.

A/N for those who read my story "A New Beginning" and found that it didn't end correctly, it has been fixed thanks to a reviewer bringing the mistake to my attention. I had accidentally posted the same chapter twice rather then the ending chapter so you might want to take a look at the last chapter again. thanks

**Chapter 7**

Willow sat at her house waiting for Britney later that evening. The last that she'd heard was that Britney would be there at 05:30pm and needed to run out for work at around 08:30 for an hour or so. It was 07:15 and the redhead was getting worried. Britney had never been this late without phoning minus the one time that work had got in the way but Willow had been informed Britney would have work to do later. She wondered if she was overreacting and should just wait on her girlfriend or if she should call Buffy. As she reached for the phone, a knock at the door disrupted her action. "Hey," she said and opened the door. The look on her face was one of utter shock because Harmony Kendall was the one standing there.

"Hi," the cheerleader said in an uncomfortable tone of voice. "Um, Buffy asked me to drop you off at the Mayor's office and she would see you later." Harmony was clueless as to why Buffy begged her to do this for her but went along with it.

"Do you know where Buffy went off to?" Willow asked in a nervous tone. She knew that Harmony had supported her in her heartbreaking fight with Xander but still didn't trust the cheerleader.

"No," Harmony said and moved away from the door. "She was on the phone and then took off and told me that it was urgent that you be dropped off."

"Are you going to wait for me?" Willow asked and followed the blonde out to her car.

"Sure," the cheerleader replied and pulled away from Willow's house.

- - - - - -

Britney Walsh stood stoically outside the college. After viewing Faith laid out on what looked like an operating table with all sorts of machines hooked up to her, she knew what she had to do. Her decision was quick but she felt that it was the right thing to do. Betraying ones family was not an easy thing to do but something inside of Britney screamed that it was the only way to stop whatever was about to happen to the other slayer. She hoped that she had stopped Riley in time before he changed the security codes to the compound and hoped that her blow to the back of his head wasn't too hard. As she looked around the building, Buffy Summers raced up to her. "All right, this better be good and what's this about coming clean?"

"I don't know if we have time for that right now Buffy." Britney turned towards the slayer with an urgent look in her eyes. "One of my jobs for the military is to test demons to see what makes them tick and kill them if necessary. We're on the same page as the vampire slayers, or so I thought until today. The fact is that I know that you are a slayer and there is another one out there."

Buffy looked at Britney with hardened and dangerous eyes. "What's your game Britney?" She questioned with a warning tone in her voice. Maybe Xander was right to not trust this woman. She thought that she should get out of there and warn Willow, that maybe this entire mess was a trap. Anger and fear showed through in her eyes at the same time as she stared the officer down.

"The other slayer is in the compound that we are working on. My aunt had me track her down and bring her to her. I thought she was trying to help the girl out but now I'm afraid not. There was this monitor in her house and it displayed the other slayer laid out like a slab of beef on a table with a bunch of machines hooked up to her. I didn't know what else to do so I called you for some help. I'm getting my ass in all sorts of trouble with the military by giving these confidential secrets away but I'm afraid that my aunt has gone on her own path."

"How do I know that this isn't a trap to get me inside this compound as well?" Buffy asked as the angered look on her face turned to one of a sudden rage. She was not in the mood for games at all and feared that games were being played with her head.

"Your boyfriend is involved in the organization also. He is with you to find out information on the slayers. If they have their way, you will be in there with that other slayer. If you help me, we may be able to save you both. You're not strong enough to fight off the military Buffy so the way I see it, you need my help as much as I need yours." Britney countered with an impatient tone in her voice. She feared that time had ran out for the other slayer and would for Buffy if they didn't act quickly.

"Give me the codes and you be the look out. I'm not sure if I trust you enough to have you go inside with me." Buffy countered in a defensive tone. She didn't know if she even believed all of what this woman was saying and certainly wasn't going into some compound with her.

"No," Britney countered back with a growing defensive look on her face. "I won't give you the codes and they may not even work now. The longer you stand there and argue with me, the less time the other slayer has. It's up to you slayer."

- - - -

Willow left the Mayor's office with two important books in her hands and a box that was said to be of the utmost importance to his mission. She also took a small journal that appeared to be of a personal nature out of his desk. She got back into Harmony's car and a cold shiver ran up her spine. She feared that what she had just done was too easy to be true. It was as if someone had laid the ground work for her to get the necessary books to stop the Mayor. "Did Buffy call?" Willow asked in a small fearful voice.

"No," the cheerleader answered in a nonchalant tone of voice, though she too was growing worried. Part of her had a bad feeling as to what was going on with Buffy, while the more uppity part of her wondered why she cared. Deep down she knew why she cared and was trying to force herself to not go there. Harmony had a secret and it was one that would ruin her social standing forever, in her mind, thus she kept it a secret for as long as she could remember. She supposed that secret was the main reason that she helped defend Willow to Xander. She also knew that she had a great admiration for Willow for being able to come out of the closet.

"Harmony!" Willow shouted for what seemed the 50th time and the cheerleader finally turned her gaze towards the redhead. "I asked you several times where we are going." Willow said with a growing impatient tone in her voice, as she pointed at the sign that read welcome to Sunnydale.

The cheerleader did a quick turn around and headed back into town. "I'm sorry Willow," she said in a sincere manner. "I just got lost in thought for a moment."

"Well Britney isn't answering her phone and we have no idea where Buffy is," Willow let her words drop off at that and hoped that her way of speaking would turn on a light bulb in the cheerleader's brain.

"Do you think something is wrong with Buffy and your girlfriend?" Harmony asked as she turned the car into Willow's driveway. "Do you want to go look for them?"

"I wouldn't know where to begin looking," Willow said as she stepped forward to unlock her door. "I'm sure that Britney just got tied up at work but it's not like Buffy to call to find out if I got what we needed out of the office."

"What could you possibly need out of the Mayor's office?" The cheerleader asked in an ever-growing annoyed tone of voice.

"It's a long story," Willow said as she placed the books on a table and grabbed the phone. After speaking to Giles quickly, she hung up and checked her machine. There were no messages left on it, which caused a worried look to crease her features.

"Come on Willow," the cheerleader urged in an impatient manner. "I've done the things that Buffy asked me to and think that I have the right to know what's going on. Am I in any kind of danger by helping you bunch of…" the cheerleader stopped her tirade before it got rude because the truth was, she no longer wanted to be rude to this gang of people.

"I hope not Harmony," Willow said and went into the kitchen for drinks for the two of them. If she was going to give Harmony what she deserved, an explanation, she knew that it could take awhile.

After Willow had finished telling the sorted mess to the cheerleader, the knocking at the door jerked them both out of their own reverie. "Britney," the cheerleader heard Willow exclaim in a highly relieved tone of voice. "I was getting worried about you, are you all right?"

"It's a long story Willow," the officer replied in an empty tone of voice. "Buffy is in a h hospital on the outskirts of town but I think that she is going to be all right."

"What happened, why is she in the hospital and why are you the one who knows where she is rather then Willow?" Harmony blasted the questions at Britney before Willow could get her mouth open, as she moved towards the front door.

"I thought that Willow might want to go see her friend so I came to pick her up." The officer replied to the cheerleader in an indignant tone of voice.

"I'll take her," Harmony said having made the quick decision that something was wrong here and Buffy would want her to look after Willow. In the back of her mind, she wondered why she cared what Buffy wanted though she knew the answer to that question all to well.

"Why don't we just all go together?" Britney asked in hopes of avoiding a confrontation with the agitated blonde.

"Why don't we start telling what happened to Buffy?" Harmony countered as she looked over at Willow, who had a look of utter confusion on her face.

"I will explain that soon but right now, I want to take Willow to see her friend and you are starting to piss me off." Britney spat back at the blonde in a stern tone of voice but found that Harmony was not backing down either, which surprised both she and Willow.

"If it will make Harmony feel better, I can ride with her and we can follow you." Willow offered in an effort to stop the strange stand off between the two newly formed adversaries.

"Here's the deal," Britney said in a frustrated manner. "You both get in the damn car and let's go see Buffy. I will explain once you've seen her but right now it's urgent that you listen to me." She didn't mean to speak so harshly towards Willow but after the things that she witnessed in the compound, there was no way that Willow was getting out of her sight for any length of time.

At that moment, her phone rang and she grabbed it with impatience written all over her face. "Hey it's me," Graham said quickly. "I think Riley found out where we are."

Britney shut off her phone and headed out the door quickly. "You either come with me or stay behind," she said in a stern tone of voice. She didn't notice the hurt look on Willow's face at all, as she jumped into her truck. As Willow and Harmony reluctantly followed her, none of them saw a looming figure with deep brown eyes and half-demon features watching them.

A/N ok ok I did it, I love the character but sacrifices must be made sometimes to further the story. Sorry for the long delay in updates but I'm back on track and hope you like this chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N thanks for the reviews, this story has moved slightly from my initial intent of showing struggles of coming out but that's all right. There might be a bit more of that in later chapters if I get enough ideas in my head to keep the plots moving. Anyhow, I hope you all like the story thus far. A reviewer brought up a few questions about Xander's actions and why Buffy was using the dialect of a more mature person. Those things will be answered in the next few chapters.

**Chapter 7**

The three girls drove to the hospital in virtual silence, each in golfed in their own thoughts. Willow was the most confused as to what was going on, while Harmony was sure that Britney was not such a good person and had done something to Buffy. Britney was just wondering if they would make it to the hospital on time and how she was going to handle things with Willow from this point forward. "Here we are," Britney said and quickly stepped out of the truck.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Harmony stated and slowly followed Willow towards the entrance. "When are you going to explain this to us in full detail?" The cheerleader further added but got no answer from the army officer.

"She's gone," Graham replied quickly as he ran up to the group. "I couldn't fight off the…" he turned to Britney with questioning eyes.

"We don't have time to explain right now." Britney retorted and turned to head out the door.

"What do you mean she's gone?" Willow asked with fear in her voice.

"There are some bad guys and they took her while she was sedated," graham quickly replied and headed out of the hospital.

"Willow, why don't you and Harmony go home and we will go get Buffy." Britney offered in as soothing of voice as she could. She didn't want to sound like she was giving the redhead orders, when in fact she was.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Harmony said in a raised tone of voice. "You are most likely the reason that Buffy is in the mess she is in and you ask us to go home?"

"My aunt is the reason that Buffy is in the mess she is in." Britney finally gave in and decided to give a bit more information to the girls, as the demon-human mix came towards them. "That is the other slayer and that is what she plans to do to Buffy if we don't stop her! Now get in the truck." Britney shouted and fired a weapon at the creature, which had someone's blood all over it.

The creature with deep-brown captivating eyes stepped backwards for a moment and then raised an arm, which had a small assortment of weapons on it. "Britney move!" Willow shouted as the slayer-demon fired and grazed the officer's arm.

"It's to much for us right now Brit," Graham retorted in a shaky voice. "We've got to concentrate on Buffy's well being!" The slayer-demon flinched at those words and turned away from the group. It sprinted off up the street, as the others climbed into the vehicles.

"How do you know that that thing used to be a slayer?" Harmony started up the questioning as soon as Britney pulled away from the hospital.

"One of my jobs was to find the other slayer and bring her to my aunt. I did this because I thought my aunt wanted a slayer to teach things to in our upcoming operation. I was under the impression that the government was getting into the fight against demons and still believe that I'm right on that end. I now believe however, that my aunt has gone off on some crazy plot of her own." Britney sped the truck up once they hit Main Street and continued her explanation. "I did not tell you about the demons and the slayer Willow because I was working for the government, or so I thought."

Britney wheeled the truck into the large parking area of the college and jumped out before it shut completely off. She raced into the science room with the others trying to keep up. Buffy was sprawled out on a big table with machines hooked up to her, as her aunt struggled with her creation. "Get her loose!" Britney ordered graham, as she watched the creature kill her aunt. "Oh God, what has she created." The officer said in a whispered tone and then looked towards Willow and Harmony. "You two get out of here!" She ordered and went after the demon, which had dispatched graham across the room with ease.

The demon lunged at her but she ducked, as Willow ran over to finish freeing a lifeless Buffy from the machines. "I think I'll wait outside." Harmony said sheepishly and backed out of the room. As she turned towards the door, three armed officers were standing in her path. "On second thoughts, in here is better."

As Buffy was lifted off the table by Willow and a recovered Graham, The demon knocked Britney across the room. It stepped over towards Willow and Graham. Graham fired at it but there was no sign of injuring or slowing down the thing. "Her eyes make her look almost human but…" he trailed off his words realizing that there was no way it could be the case.

Britney lifted the tranquilizer gun and pointed it at the creature from behind. She fired and the thing dropped easily. "I think there is a way. I don't think they had time to finish the…" she turned and saw the officers coming towards her with handcuffs.

"I didn't do that," she pointed to Maggie who was lying lifeless on the floor. Her heart ached for the aunt that she loved but she knew that that aunt died a long time ago.

"You are being arrested for interfering with a government operation officer Walsh." The smallest of the three men said.

"What?" Harmony retorted in her snobbish fashion and looked at the three men. "I will go call my father, he can help you."

"There is no help," the second of the three men said in a maniacal tone of voice. "You have all learned to much here and are to be evacuated as ordered by the second in command."

Willow eyed the set of computer switches on the wall and knew that if Britney was right, things could be edged into their favor if she made the right move. She leaned back and bumped the one that matched the color of the demon's weapons that were attached to its right hand. A buzzer went off and the big brown eyes began to open. "She's breathing in there!" graham shouted and fired a shot at one of the three men. Britney made the quick decision to help and rushed another of the three, while Willow struggled to remove the creature's armor. Not so surprisingly, Willow got help when the slayer burst out of the armor, which had a computer device attached to it. Blood was trickling down her forehead because the wires were jerked out of it. "Dear God, she half finished the job and it's her fault for interrupting that night!" One of the men shouted and they tried to retreat but the ailing slayer grabbed one and snapped his neck with ease.

As Buffy's eyes opened, the slayer disposed of the last of the three men. "You weren't lying," she murmured to Britney, who walked tentatively over to the slayer.

"What did they do to me!" Faith shouted angrily and pushed Britney against a wall with one hand, as she rubbed her face, which was clearly demonic looking on one side.

"We've got to get you some help and then we can figure out if there is any lasting damage besides the facial problem." Harmony added not so tactfully.

Just then, the slayer who had saved them all from jail, grabbed her chest and then exploded into nothingness. "There is always a back up plan!" An all to familiar voice shouted over the loud speaker.

"We've got to get out of here fast!" Britney said and lifted the slayer off the table. "Move it!" She barked and ran out of the college.

- - - - -

That next evening, Britney headed over to Willow's house. The initiative was dismantled for the most part, though she was asked to stay behind by the government to help them understand how these demons work and rid the world of the bad ones. The plan initially was for the government to set up shop and study the creatures but Maggie and others had turned it into their own plan. Britney was to follow through with the plan for an undisclosed period of time until the government decided whether or not they would try to set up a full shop again there or in another location.

As she pulled into the drive, she wondered if things would be the same between she and Willow. She was only doing her job and hoped that Willow could understand that. She could understand if Willow didn't understand it right away but hoped that she would in time.

She was relieved when Willow at least opened the door and let her in the house. "I thought I should give you some time with your friends." Britney said and tentatively stood back from the redhead.

Willow had pondered things all day and knew that Britney was doing her job but her best friend was almost killed. She didn't know if she could get over that and part of her feared that Britney was involved and backed out at the last minute because of her closeness to Willow. "Thanks," Willow said in a tired voice. She hadn't slept much the night before and Britney saw that in her eyes.

"Willow," Britney began to speak as she moved closer to her girlfriend. "I am so sorry that I did not tell you all of this stuff from the beginning. If I had an inkling that it was not on the up and up, I would have told you. I went to Buffy as soon as I knew it was a shady deal."

"Buffy couldn't say that she fully believed you weren't involved and I'm not so sure of that either." Willow said honestly. "Whatever the case is, you did end up helping us in the end but a slayer is dead because of the plot and nobody fully trusts you. I mean, I want to Britney but I'm scared to." Willow said and allowed tears to trickle down her cheeks.

Britney moved quickly and pulled Willow into a firm hug. Willow instinctively put her head on the officer's shoulder and began to cry for many reasons. The loss of her friend Xander, the near loss of Buffy, seeing a slayer die in such a horrific fashion and just the stress of the entire ordeal was more then enough to cause the tears to flow. She mostly cried because she was deeply in love with Britney but doubted her at the same time. She then wondered if you had doubts about someone, could you really love them? "Willow I understand what you're feeling about me right now. The only thing that I can hope for is that you can give me a chance to prove to you that you can trust me." Britney said and wiped the tears from Willow's eyes, as she placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "Don't just throw this away Willow," Britney said in a low soothing voice but feared that that is exactly what Willow was going to do.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N thanks for the reviews, I didn't like killing off one of my favorites but it seemed necessary for the plot. ugh

**Chapter 9**

Buffy sat on a park bench that next afternoon deep in thought. She never had the chance to know that other slayer, help her and befriend her and it didn't seem fair. Nothing in life seemed fair these days, her friends were all messed up and she had no real promise of a lengthy life. She hadn't really thought about that, even with her own deathish experiences, but the other slayer made that reality hit home. She felt for Willow, wondered about Britney, Xander and gave herself a dose of self-pity while she was at it. She would never get the chance to experience life because of her calling and now there was some girl out there going through the same fate that was so graciously bestowed upon her because she could not save the current slayer.

A car door closing jerked Buffy's senses back to the alert stage and Harmony walked up to her. "Are you all right?" The cheerleader asked, no longer with the familiar smug tone in her voice. She had witnessed a lot the night before and had learned a thing or two about the value of every human life.

"All in a day's work," was Buffy's distant reply. Whenever Buffy felt insecure about her abilities as a slayer, she would go inside herself to keep her friends at bay. Buffy's reasoning for this was that if they were not close to her, their chances of being killed would be decreased.

"Well you don't look all right," the cheerleader replied bluntly. "That was pretty wild Buffy and if you need to talk, I've learned how to listen very well over the last couple of days."

"What's to talk about?" Buffy enquired in a tired voice. "I'm a vampire slayer and I simply cannot save the world as I was called to do." Buffy's pain and anger seeped out through her words as she looked down at the ground.

"Of course you can't but you can do the best that you can." Harmony replied a little uncomfortably. She wanted to be there for her new friend but didn't quite know how to get into deep conversations.

"Harmony, the deal is that I have a death sentence. I don't want my friends to have that same sentence because they are associated with me. I cannot make plans to grow old, have kids and watch my grandkids grow up. I cannot fall in love because the only time that happened, I had to kill him because he turned into this big bad demon and tried to kill everyone. So then I decide to pick a normal guy to get into a relationship with and what does he do?" Buffy didn't mean for her emotions to be set free and come tumbling out but they did, thus she began to cry as she spoke.

Harmony looked at Buffy sadly and then moved forward to embrace the girl as her tears began to fall. Buffy was so strong outwardly and during battles but it was apparent that her strength ended there. Nobody would have ever guessed that this petit blonde who was crying on Harmony Kendall's shoulder had the strength that was greater then a large number of men put together in a physical sense. "Buffy, this is what I learned from what happened yesterday. I learned to stop acting childish and being rude to others because I may not have a tomorrow. I learned that if you slayers didn't exist, my chances of death would be greater then they are now. I also learned that if there is a special someone that you would like to be with, you need to grab that chance and make the most of it. Live life to its fullest while you are here."

Buffy looked up at the cheerleader with a stunned look on her face. She briefly wondered if some demon had cast an intelligence spell on the not so bright girl. She also realized that Harmony's words were the truth. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would get a pep talk from you." Buffy said with a gentle smile replacing the frown on her face.

"Buffy, can I ask you a question?" The cheerleader ventured, as Buffy watched Willow walk into a coffee shop with Xander and had a flicker of hope that things were going to be worked out rather then grow worse between the lifelong friends.

"Sure," Buffy said with a tinge of nervousness in her voice. Why she felt the nervousness was unknown to her but it was there.

"Well, it's silly really. I've noticed your dialect has become more adultish and proper lately. Did you get smart all of a sudden or is there another reason for that?" The cheerleader smirked at Buffy's surprised look and stepped over towards her car.

Buffy hadn't noticed her change in the use of the English language but knew, from experience, that it changed when she was nervous about a big decision she needed to make. She knew, in the back of her mind, what this big decision was but was afraid to make it. "I hadn't noticed," she told a white lie but figured it was a harmless one.

"Do you think they're making up?" Harmony asked in reference to the two friends who had just gone in the coffee shop.

"That or the next apocalypse is near." Buffy said in a condescending tone of voice and headed for the coffee shop.

- - - -

Willow was surprised to find a message from Xander on her machine when she got home from school. She had spent most of the day thinking of Britney and how she missed her. The doubts were still there however, which prompted Willow to make the decision to give herself a little more time to sort it all out. She believed that Britney would give her that time, which made her also believe that there was still some hope for the couple. She did love Britney but had to find out the truth one way or the other. "Hey Will, I've been laying low for the last few days and met this chick who has helped me to understand where all my anger came from. If you don't mind, I'd like to talk to you and see if there is anything we can salvage. Maybe too, you could meet my new friend. She's a real sweet girl and is lesbian like you apparently are. So if you want to give me a shot at explaining myself, meet me at 5:30 at the coffee shop."

"Hey there Willow," Britney's soft voice was the next message on Willow's machine. Hearing her voice made Willow a bit weak in the knees and she wanted nothing more then to return the call to ask Britney to come over. She felt so safe and loved in Britney's arms but kept up her resolve to wait this thing out. "I just wanted to call so that you know I'm thinking of you. I miss you Willow and I hope we can clear this all up very soon."

Sadly, Willow walked away from the phone, showered and headed out the door to meet Xander. Part of her wondered if she should not have called Buffy to go along in case this blew up in her face but decided to hear him out. Even if he had a logical explanation for things, Willow knew that she could not just jump right into their friendship as if nothing happened. Too many hurtful things had been said on both sides and stinging words didn't just go away in a flash.

As she turned up the street towards the coffee shop thinking that maybe she should have at least returned Britney's call, Xander walked up from the other street. His eyes didn't meet hers and they were in total silence as they entered the little shop and sat down to order. "All right Xander, what gives?" Willow asked a little impatiently after they had received their drinks and pastries.

"You're not in the mood for chit chat I see." Xander added dryly in a weak attempt to make Willow smile.

"Not really," was all Willow replied. She didn't mean to be so curt with her one time best friend but she didn't feel comfortable making pleasantries with him at this stage of the game.

"Well I met this girl and she seemed really nice. We got to talking and I discovered that she was lesbian. So I told her how I freaked out with you over being one." Xander began to speak swiftly to indicate that he got the hint that Willow didn't plan on fixing things with the snap of a finger. "So I told her about our friendship and the length of it."

Xander took a quick break to finish off his drink and continued to speak with a hint of hope in his eyes. "She told me that it sounded like, with this on again off again crush we shared, I took for granted you would be there if I should decide to try for more of a relationship. Her reason was that I couldn't be against all lesbians or I wouldn't have talked so freely to her." Xander searched Willow's face for a positive sign but found none, thus he continued to speak. "After I thought it over and talked with her some more, I think she's right. I let my hurt over you not being there for me if I ever decided I wanted you overtake me and went off the deep end. For that, I'm so sorry and hope that you can understand it someday."

Willow thought about what Xander had said and knew that it could be true. Time after time, she sat in her room and felt hurt because Xander was with another girl. She carried what she now knew was only a crush on him for ages, with no reciprocation. She never allowed her emotions over the many disappointments to push her over the edge but knew that it was a very plausible reaction. "I do understand how that could happen Xander but the hurt is to deep for me to forget so fast. I know that I can forgive you but it will take some time before we can get back what we had, if we can."

"That's more of a positive reaction then I thought you would give so I'll take it. I was so nervous that you wouldn't even meet me and give me a shot at explaining this. You know, I was so nervous that I was stuttering, how you babble and Buff gets all teacher sounding when you are nervous over something." Xander spoke with a timid smile on his face. He knew that they had a lot of work to do thanks to his stupidity but hoped that it could be done with a little time and effort. He still wasn't fond of Britney for some reason however and hoped that Willow would take a liking to his new friend and ditch Britney. She was shy, blonde, pretty and Tara was a nice name. "Oh hey, here comes Buff and the resident snob," Xander said as Buffy and Harmony walked in the door. "They seem a little chummy, now that's weird."

Willow glanced over at the two girls and it hit her like a ton of bricks. Harmony was supportive of her for a reason and Buffy was nervous for a reason. Those reasons were linked together. "Yeah they are," Willow said with a smile and stood to greet her friends. She felt it strange to consider Harmony a friend but she did now.

After Buffy did a check on the situation at hand, the two sat down at the table and ordered food. The four had a cautious chat for a few minutes and then Xander suddenly stood. "Hey guys, this is my new friend Tara Maclay. She's the one who helped me see what a dorke I was being."


	10. Chapter 10

A/N Thanks for reviews, feedback is a good thing.

**Chapter 10**

Tara shook hands with everyone and then sat down. She looked at the floor rather then the others because of her immense shyness and fear of people judging her in the wrong way. "It's nice to meet you and thanks for trying to help Xander." Willow offered up in way of trying to help the obviously shy girl feel more at ease.

"Yeah," Xander added with a beaming smile on his face. "We're going to fix things and it's all thanks to you."

Willow's gaze dropped straight away and she readied herself to leave. "Xander, I never made any promises."

Just then, Britney and Graham walked into the little shop, which made Willow feel more uncomfortable then Xander had just done. She and Xander had a good talk but that did not mean Willow was going to be able to let him back into her life as close as he used to be. Willow turned her gaze away from the door and thought of how to get out without having to deal with Britney at the moment. She then felt bad for trying to think of a way to escape the woman who had shown her so much in the last few weeks. She turned her gaze to Buffy who looked a bit apprehensive and then fully stood to walk away from the table.

"There's your girlfriend Will," Xander piped up with a fake smile. He knew everything that had gone down between the women but decided to play it cool for the time being. He hoped that Britney would walk over and get the vibe that Tara was lesbian and walk out of Willow's life with the wrong assumption that Willow was moving on from her.

Xander calculated one thing right, as Britney walked up to Willow. "Hey Willow, you don't have to leave on my account." Britney's voice made Willow want to tell her that things were going to work out with the two of them, embrace her tightly and share several make up kisses.

"Boy isn't this just dandy," Harmony spoke up and got to her feet. "Harris, you have hit an all time low and should be president of the geek-squad." Having said that, she walked into the ladies room with Buffy wanting to follow her but deciding that she should hang tight incase something exploded.

Willow looked up into Britney's beautiful eyes and saw nothing but love and sadness in them. "I got your message but was going to call when I got home. Xander wanted to meet to explain himself so I thought that I should hear him out."

"That's right," Xander got to his feet having seen an easy opening. "I would also like to apologize to you for how I acted when Will came out. My new friend Tara," he pointed casually at the shy blonde who looked as though she wanted to sink into the booth, "helped me a lot. She's a young lesbian who is wise beyond her years in people's reactions."

Nobody could claim that Britney Walsh was missing a few screws by any means and she proved this by catching on to what Xander was up to right away. "So is this going to be your new chosen friend for Willow?" Britney asked bluntly, having never been one to skirt what she was thinking.

"That's nutso man!" Xander cried out in a defensive tone. "Tara is a nice girl and I would never use her like that. I was trying to make amends with a friend and get accused of this bullshit!" He finished his tirade as Harmony walked out of the ladies room and shot a glance at Buffy, who sported a disgusted look on her face.

"I think that I should just go," Willow said and tried to make a quick exit from the shop but Britney stopped her.

"Willow, can we take a drive and talk for a few minutes? Just long enough for me to drive you home and I won't push you." Britney's eyes displayed such love and sadness in them that Willow found it hard to say no but she was utterly confused at everything at the moment.

Tara saw the confusion and feeling of being overwhelmed in Willows eyes. She wished that she had guts enough to speak up for the pretty redhead but knew that it wasn't her place. She thought that if she offered her a supportive smile, it would help. She then decided better of that considering the accusation that was just tossed at her new friend by an obviously jealous girlfriend. "Maybe I should not have came," Tara offered in a soft, shy, yet comforting voice. "I am sorry and should be the one to go."

"Nonsense," Xander added and stood up from his chair. "You haven't done a thing here Tara."

"He's right on that account," Harmony added in a snarky tone of voice. Part of her wished, for the millionth time it seemed, that she never got involved with this bunch of monster fighting weirdos. While another part of her was glad that she did because it was allowing her the chance to get to know Buffy.

"No don't worry about it." Britney added and turned back towards the door. "I'm sorry if I have made you uncomfortable Willow. It's the last thing I want to do. I will just leave and let you spend some time with your friends here. If you are up to it, give me a call sometime."

"Let me walk you out at least," Willow said and followed Britney to her truck. "Look, I'm sorry that I'm acting like a kid here Britney. I just don't know how to take all of what's happened in the last couple of days. I feel like I can't breathe and I need some time to relax and gather my thoughts. I hope that you know I'm not trying to be rude and I do love you."

A tear trickled down Willow's cheek and Britney quickly pulled her into a firm embrace. "Willow, I love you so much and miss being with you. I understand that you need to put all of this together and will give you all the space that you need. I just wish that space didn't mean completely shutting me out of your life. You don't have to sleep with me Willow, or even kiss me but just let me be here for you from time to time. Just like this," Britney spoke ever so softly and fought off the urge to kiss her lover.

Willow and Britney both felt how quickly Willow relaxed in Britney's arms. "That's just it, when you are around I want you to kiss me and all that other stuff. I don't think you're some evil person Britney but I just, well I really am not sure fully what the problem is. I feel like you may have hid something from me on purpose and why I can't get over it, I don't know. I just think I need some time to grow up a bit and realize you are not trying to hurt me. I mean, Buffy has to keep secrets like that from people and I even understand why you do…" Britney couldn't resist the chance to stop the babbling because she knew that Willow was only confusing herself more. She leaned down and gave her lover a gentle kissed and then moved away.

"I think this entire mess just has you thrown for a loop and you do need some time to clear your thoughts up. I hope that once you do, you still love and want to be with me is all." She held Willow more firmly against her for the briefest of seconds and then released her. "I'll wait for you to call me Willow because I don't want to make you feel as trapped as you looked in there."

"That wasn't all you Britney," Willow began to explain quickly. "Xander explained why he let himself flip out like a freak show and then tried to tell everyone that we were fixing things for sure. I don't know if I can do that with him. That was a big part of what had my nerves up and then this thing with you didn't help."

"I understand Willow," Britney said and got in her truck. "You still owe me a call though so I'll wait till you are ready to talk to me comfortably." She gave her lover a sad smile and drove off after she finished speaking.

As Willow stood outside deciding whether or not to go back inside and say bye to her friends, Tara walked out of the club. She turned and looked at Willow with understanding in her sky-blue eyes. "I'm so very sorry Willow. I hope that I didn't cause any trouble for you and your girlfriend."

"No, not at all," Willow replied in a tired voice. "I don't think she and Xander will ever get along and honestly, I don't know if he and I will ever get along like we used to. I'm sorry, I shouldn't be telling you this."

Tara gave Willow a half-smile and shook her hand again. Both women felt a certain electrical spark when they touched. "S-S-Sometimes it helps to talk to an outsider and I listen much better then I talk." Tara said with a noticeable stammer.

"I might take you up on that," Willow said and returned the smile. "Tomorrow is Saturday, so what about we meet here for lunch and maybe talk a little." Willow wanted to help the girl to understand that none of this was her fault and hoped that an offering of food and conversation would help. Plus she thought it might be a nice diversion from her own troubles, of which she was certain now that she was making bigger by making a mountain out of a molehill.

As the two girls parted ways, Buffy and Britney came out of the shop. Buffy looked emotionally drained and almost as confused as Willow was. There was one thing that she was certain of and that was that Xander was trying to dictate Willow's love life. She wasn't certain as to Britney's true purpose in that fiasco that was co-ran by Riley and Maggie Walsh but she was certain it was Willow's decision to make. "You need a ride?" Harmony asked and pointed to her car.

"You taking me around town in that snazzy car is getting to be a ritual." Buffy replied with a smile forming on her face.

"Are all rituals bad?" Harmony asked in an attempt to see where Buffy would go with a little subtle flirtation.

"Not at all," Buffy said, appearing to have missed the boat on what Harmony was doing. "It's just that I still can't get used to the fact that I'm hanging with you. Not that you're bad but we didn't mix well in the beginning." Buffy added for good measure. "I would have pictured Core growing up before you to be honest."

"I don't think Delia will ever grow up," Harmony replied and started the car. "It's no fun being a Cordette anymore Buffy. That garbage was formed when we were all in grade school and with the little I saw yesterday, it's not what I want anymore. I want to be a model who has learned how to be nice to people and appreciate life instead of what life can give me."

"That sounds good and all but I don't think hanging with the Scoobies is your deal either. I mean, you looked totally bored back there until the action started." Buffy said honestly and lowered her smile.

"Scooby meetings, tossing steaks and shooting those other thingies isn't my deal at all. If you like someone's company, you sorta hafta compromise and I like your company." Seeing as Buffy missed the subtle remarks, Harmony decided to try a more blunt approach. Harmony would be the first to admit that she wasn't big on the intelligence department but she knew how to do one thing like the back of her hand, how to get a date.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N thanks for the reviews**

**Chapter 11**

As Britney Walsh sifted through some of her aunt's papers the next afternoon, Graham came quietly into the room." Hey, you know that burying yourself in work isn't going to help ease the stress of the Willow situation right?" He sat down a bag that contained lunch from the local burger joint. "You find anything interesting in there?"

"I don't know yet," Britney said morosely. "I think there is a lot more to this slayer bit then Rupert Giles is letting on though."

Care to share?" Graham questioned with an intrigued look on his face.

"Not just now," Britney said briskly. The fact was that she didn't fully trust anyone that was connected with her mother's operation, though Graham had proven to be loyal to her thus far. Riley was still out there and she wanted to be careful of each move until she brought him to justice.

"What are you going to do about Willow?" Graham asked with a hint of disdain in his voice, which Britney noticed quickly. "Do you know that she's having lunch with Xander's friend?"

"It's not my business to follow her every move Graham." Britney said in a flippant tone of voice. The look on her face betrayed the words however and Graham caught it. It was as if the two were playing a game of chess to see who had the better mental principles about them.

"You don't trust me do you Brit?" Graham finally folded his hand and got to the real conversation.

"Should I?" Britney asked with an indifferent look on her face. Though Britney didn't trust him, she didn't see him as a huge threat either. If he was truly an ally that would be great but if not, she felt that she had dealt with more harmful foes then him.

"I understand why you don't but you can. I'm not in this to help Riley and hope that you will see that someday." Having said that and realizing that he hadn't gained an inch with the officer, Graham stood up and exited the small office.

Britney studied the paper that read about the slayers for a few more minutes and then closed the notebook. If what was written was true, Buffy Summers was going to need to be protected for the next several years. As she punched the buttons to lock the room securely and picked up her keys, the phone rang. "Yeah," she said curtly.

"This is Rupert Giles," was the reply from the other end of the phone. "You wanted to meet with me regarding some papers that you found and are planning to allow me to put in my files?"

"Nice try Rupert," Britney said with a mock grin on her face. "I'm smarter then the average high school kid. I want to talk with you about something that I read but you will not be getting the papers. I will be free after 07:30pm." She said bluntly and then hung up the phone.

As Britney left the office and headed up the street, she wanted to go into the diner where Willow and Tara were having lunch. She wished so much that Willow could see that she wasn't involved in some sordid plot against the world and come back to her but feared this girl could get between them before that happened. It wasn't that Britney was jealous of the woman, but she knew how things like this worked and didn't want it to be the case with she and Willow's relationship.

As Britney stood quietly and contemplated which eatery to have lunch at, Willow and Tara walked up the sidewalk with smiles on their faces. As they neared the corner, they shared a long hug that Britney's gut told her was more then a friendship hug. The two girls separated as she quickly turned the opposite way so that Willow did not see her. She didn't want to come off looking like she was spying on the two, because she wasn't. She didn't want to seem as if she were following them, which she wasn't doing either. She also didn't want Willow to know that she thought of going inside that restaurant for fear that Willow would think she was some sort of jealous stalker.

- - - - -

Willow sat in a corner booth at her favorite diner waiting for Tara. The two had only spoke briefly the day before, but Willow felt some odd connection with the bashful woman. She looked forward to their lunch date all morning. She also was glad to get a breather from worrying about her love life and the daily trials that being a Scooby brought forth. As she sipped a soft drink, she saw Tara come in and Graham following after her. She briefly wondered if he was spying for Britney but dismissed that thought quickly. She didn't believe that Britney would go to such a low tactic to keep tabs on her.

Tara walked over to the booth with a shy smile on her face. She then extended her hand to Willow, who shook it gently. "Glad you could make it." Willow offered in a chipper tone of voice.

"Me too," Tara said pointing out the window. "The rain finally let up enough for me to walk. I thought I was going to have to grab a cab or cancel out."

"Well I'm glad that didn't happen," Willow said and handed Tara a menu, as Graham continued to glance out of the corner of his eye at their table. "So, are you from around here?" Willow asked in way of starting up a conversation.

"I'm from a small farm in the northern part of the state actually." Tara said shyly.

"What type of farm?" Willow enquired, as the waiter came and took their orders.

"A horse farm," Tara replied with a smile. The only thing she missed about home was tending to the horses.

Willow visibly flinched at Tara's mentioning of horses. "I'm terrified of horses," she said in a high-pitched tone of voice.

"Did you have a bad run with one?" Tara asked with concern on her face. It was beyond her how anyone could be frightened of such graceful creatures.

"No, I'm just afraid that when they make that high-pitched noise, they're going to mull me or something." Willow said with a tinge of red appearing on her face.

Tara smiled delightfully and Willow couldn't help how pretty the woman's smile was, as she noticed Graham watching them. In the back of her head, that thought of Britney putting him up to it surfaced again. "You just need an understanding person to take you on a ride and that should get you over the fear." Tara replied softly, having too noticed Graham watching them.

The two had a casual conversation, with lots of laughter and smiles, throughout the remainder of their meal. They had walked each other out and made a tentative magic study date for the next couple of days, when Willow saw Britney driving off. That same old thought crept back into her head as Tara released her from a hug and walked off. She then shook her head, with a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. Britney had always been so caring and loving to her, there was something going on and Willow didn't have a good feeling about it. Her first instinct was to pull out her phone and call Britney but she hesitated for some reason.

- - - - - -

As Britney walked towards the Bronze with a troubled look on her face that night, she saw Willow walk in ahead of her with Tara. She frowned and kept on walking towards the club. There was no way that this woman and Xander were going to take Willow from her without a fight. She had not had the best of meetings with Rupert Giles, who had all but threatened her to keep the secret that was held within her aunt Maggie's papers. His reasoning was that keeping the secret from Buffy would be the best way to help protect her for the length of time that was needed for the slayer line to be restored to order. Britney had neither agreed nor disagreed to keep the secret, which angered Giles. But he knew that there was nothing he could do about it until he got his hands on those papers.

By the time Britney walked inside the club, Willow and Tara were seated with Xander and some other girl. She was surprised to see that Buffy and the cheerleader were sitting at a different table then the foursome and walked over. "Hey Britney," Buffy said with a tentative smile on her face, as she looked over at Willow.

"May I ask you one question and then I'll leave you to your evening?" Britney asked the slayer, as something nagged at the back of her mind for her to inform Buffy of the things that she'd learned.

"I bet it's the same question I had." Harmony said with a smug look of disgust on her face. "Willow says that she may not be able to forgive Xander and now she's partying with him, what's up with that?"

"That's basically it," Britney said, as she felt a pair of eyes on her. She turned her gaze quickly to catch Tara removing her gaze from Britney's direction.

"I saw that too," Harmony added. She wasn't good at monsters, book knowledge, and things of that nature, but she was good at knowing what looks on faces meant. "She's wondering if you are going to make some sort of move, which tells me that this chick isn't as um," Harmony stopped and searched for the words that her vocabulary seemed to lack.

"Shy, innocent and naive," Britney added and Harmony confirmed her correct words with a nod.

"If you go over there however," Harmony began to speak. Relationships were another of her expertise having been trained by Cordelia in the field. "It is gonna look like you're jealous."

"Wait a minute," Buffy said, finally having caught up with the conversation. "Are you two trying to say that Willow is being played on some level?"

"I don't know what is going on exactly but Britney has to play it coy or else whatever is going on will go in their direction." Harmony added triumphantly.

"Maybe she was looking over here out of concern for Will," Buffy added meekly. Tara looked to be a caring person and Buffy thought they were making this bigger then it needed to be.

"That's possible too," Britney added with a look of resignation on her face. "It's just strange that Willow is out having such a good time and not making an attempt to fix whatever is truly wrong with us."

"Maybe you are jealous," Buffy added protectively. She still didn't trust the officer fully either and wanted Willow to be happy.

"Of course she is," Harmony replied smugly. "Would you like it if the one who was supposed to be hurting and making a big decision about your relationship was found having a good time while you were still all depresso-girl? Just cause she's jealous doesn't mean that something's not up with that chick over there."

"I'll leave the two of you to your date," Britney said with a fake smile and started to walk off.

"We're not on a date," Harmony said and stood up. "Look, if they want to play games, I used to be a member of the best game players club in town." Having said that, to Buffy's dismay, she took hold of Britney's hands and headed towards the dance floor. "Counter one act with another. If there is something going on, seeing you with her once mortal enemy should be enough to shake Willow out of it."

As Willow looked up from talking with Tara, she saw the two on the dance floor. She had thought, once again, that Britney was spying on her and ruining her good time with Tara. Now she wondered if Britney had moved on so quickly and then did a double take in her mind. It wasn't like Willow to think so selfishly and certainly was not like her to have such a good time with another person so quickly after a bump in the road in a relationship. She knew that something was amiss and tried to figure out how to play her cards.

- - - - -

As Britney got home and tossed her keys on the table, the phone began to ring. She had spent her walk home wondering why she allowed herself to be sucked into these teenage games and then remembered why, love. "Hello," she said in a rushed manner.

"Britney, this is Willow. I need to talk to you but don't drive your truck here and come around the back." Willow said and simply hung up.

Britney knew that there was something more going on then jealousy over her dance with Harmony and did as Willow instructed. As she got to the house, she wondered just what she was getting into this time. Her mind was a mixture of emotions, love and sadness for Willow, uncertainty as to how to handle discussing her theory with Willow and lastly, how to handle Willow's possible theory as to what was going on.

"Hey," Willow said as she ushered Britney in the house and almost kissed her instinctively. She backed away quickly and just looked at Britney sadly. "Look, something is causing me to think in ways that aren't normal for me to think. I think there is something out there that is trying to sway my thoughts away from you but I don't know why. I don't like not knowing things Britney and am afraid that I've put Tara in some kind of danger now by being near her and allowing her into my life. I need to find a way to fix this problem and look after her without scaring her to death."

Britney looked at her girlfriend with the utmost love in her eyes and then began to speak the words that she knew could damage their relationship for good, given Willow's state of mind. "You want to protect Tara but I think that she's involved." Britney said with the most sincere tone of voice that she could. Hiding things from Willow was what started this mess to begin with and Britney made the quick decision that she wouldn't go to that place again.

Willow looked at Britney in disbelief. "Britney Tara is the most gentle and kind woman that I have ever met. She is so good to me, listens well and is supportive. There is not a chance that she would do anything to hurt me and I know that for a fact." The sternness in Willow's voice made her girlfriend frown as she finished speaking.

"Listen to yourself Willow." Britney kept her voice calm on the outside, though she was raging on the inside. "We are involved and you act as if you trust her more then you ever did me. You've got her on a pedestal, a place that I was never held. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be worshiped nor put on some throne but why the hell is she?" Britney allowed a little of her anger slip out in her last sentence, as she looked at Willow. "Think about it Willow, Xander is the one who brought her here. Now you're all close with him again and by the sounds of it, are soon to be closer with Tara then you are me. So what gives here?"


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N thanks for reviews**

**Chapter 12**

As Britney stood awaiting Willow's response, Willow felt a sort of detachment from the entire situation. It was as if words were coming out of her mouth and she was afar off listening to them with no control over what the words were that she spoke. "Britney, I think that I'm bringing more confusion to your life then anything. I think that we need to just call this thing off and remember the good times." There was a part of Willow that screamed no inwardly, as her mouth spoke the words. But she couldn't stop them from coming out no matter how she tried.

Britney stood silently and looked at Willow with sadness in her eyes. She could not believe what she was hearing and didn't know what to do next. As she searched Willow's eyes for a sign, she saw a quick flutter in them. "Willow, if I thought you truly meant that, I would walk away and not bother you anymore. I will find a way to fix this insanity so that we can talk things out with clear minds." Having said that, Britney turned and walked out the door.

- - - - - -

"What do you mean you just called it off with Britney?" Buffy questioned with alarm in her voice as she checked herself over in the mirror. "Will, you really are acting strange. I never thought that I would say this but I'm thinking Harmony is onto something. I mean, she doesn't know what it is but thinks something is going on and well I stuck up for you. What's the sitch here?"

"Buffy you are starting to sound like me with the rambling." Willow said in a calm voice. "I think part of it is that I'm new at this lesbian thing and maybe jumping into some big lifelong relationship isn't for me yet. I have this attraction to Tara and need to spread my wings sorta." Willow added, which caused a shocked look to cross Buffy's features.

"Will, you aren't even talking like yourself," Buffy added as Joyce alerted her that Harmony was there to pick her up.

On top of having to deal with Willow, Buffy had her own things to deal with. She was going on her first date with a female and it was Harmony to top it all off. She never dreamt that she would, A. be dating a female and B, it would be someone like Harmony Kendall. "Are you all right Buffy?" Harmony asked the slayer, who sported an absent look on her face.

"Yeah," Buffy tried to cover. She didn't want her first date with the cheerleader to be filled with talks of the problems going on in Sunnydale. "I'm just a little nervous because we're taking a big step here and I am a little worried that you might decide that being a Cordette is much easier then the gay thing and being around a slayer."

"That's a no brainer Buffy." Harmony said with a smile on her face. "Being a Cordette is way easier then both of those things but I want to try something hard for the first time in my life." With that, the cheerleader took Buffy's hand and led her out the door.

- - - - -

Britney stood in an alleyway deep in thought. She could not believe how her second talk with Giles had gone down. She had thought that he would be receptive to helping someone close to him but grossly miscalculated the man. After she had explained her theory on Willow's situation to Giles and asked him for help on researching Tara, he countered with, "if you help me."

He laid out how the deal would work to her and it sickened her to think that he would bargain at a time like this. He wanted the slayer papers and her sworn oath to secrecy in return for his aid in freeing Willow. What sickened Britney further was that she almost went along with the idea but came up with a better solution. She would simply make copies of the papers, give him the original and Buffy her copy, if she decided to let the secret be known.

Upon further thought however, Britney decided to decline Giles' offer and go it alone. She went to her computer and found Tara's father. If the man was to be believed, Willow could be in grave danger and Britney wasn't sure how to stop it. "Damn it," she said aloud, as her face displayed a plethora of emotions. Sadness was the main one, with a hint of anger at letting this happen to Willow added to it. Pain was also evident on her face due to the words that Willow had spoke to her recently.

"What's your problem? Thinking on how to get Willow away from her new and improved girlfriend?" Xander Harris asked in a condescending tone of voice as he walked up to Britney.

"Not at all Xander," Britney said curtly. "I'm thinking on how to get her out of the trouble you have gotten her into by hooking her up with a demon."

"What the hell are you talking about? I think you're grasping here officer Walsh." Xander addressed her officially but in a sarcastic manner, as Buffy and Harmony got out of a car and walked towards them.

- - - -

"Willow, I'm so very sorry for the things that you are going through." Tara said soothingly as the two relaxed on the Rosenberg's sofa. "I hate to think that this is partly my fault."

"Of course it isn't Tara and I'm sorry that she tried to blame you." Willow said with a hint of an abnormal look in her eyes. "I tried to explain to her that this is all new to me but I don't think she took it well."

"Do you think that she may be spying on you or anything?" Tara questioned with a noticeable stammer. "I've read a lot of weird things about those army people, how they can flip out."

Something deep in the caverns of Willow's mind tried to alert her that this was all wrong but she couldn't pull it to the forefront enough to grasp it. It was as if she reached her hand out but the subconscious warning was just beyond the reach of her outstretched hand. "I don't think she would do that but if she is," a devious look crossed Willow's face as another thought tried to scream at her to stop. "Maybe we could give her a bit of a show. I mean, I'm not using you for that purpose or anything and maybe it's a bad idea." Willow hung her head in shame as Tara cuffed her chin in the palm of her hand.

"No, it's all right Willow. I'm not one for games like that but maybe she needs to see that you really do want to move on." Having said that, the blonde leaned over and kissed Willow.

As the make out session progressed, something began to claw its way into the forefront of Willow's mind. She felt her love for Britney but could feel it being pushed away by something unseen and angry. She knew that she needed to stop what was going on but something was pushing her to go forward, as the door burst open and Tara was dragged away from Willow by an angry Buffy Summers. "Game over demon!" Buffy shouted, as Spike stepped forward and promptly punched Tara in the nose. He did not flinch nor grab his head, officially outing the blonde.

"Get down!" Britney shouted as a spray of bullets entered through the front window.

"Willow, once you slept with this demon, you would be fully under her control according to her father." As Buffy spoke, the pretty blonde turned into a hideous looking creature and lunged for Willow but Spike and Buffy began to battle it.

"Stay down Willow," Harmony said softly with a look of fear on her face, as Britney fired back outside the window hitting Riley Finn in the chest.

As the demon dropped to the floor, tears sprang down Willow's cheeks fast and her sobs were hard. "Willow," Britney said softly and pulled the shaking girl into her arms. "It's all right, I got you now."

Buffy turned to look at Harmony as Britney tried to calm Willow. "So, do you still want to hang with me?" She asked in a tentative tone of voice.

"I've always been a coward Buffy and think that you would be the perfect person to protect me," Harmony said with a tense smile on her face, as the two stepped outside to give Willow and Britney some privacy.

"I feel so dirty, ashamed and low." Willow said as Britney wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I feel like my entire being has been raped and like I'm not worth anyone caring for." Willow said and began to sob again.

"I understand that Willow but you are very much worth my time and I care for you very deeply." Britney said, wanting to kiss her but knowing that Willow's mental state was not ready for such contact.

"I don't want to stay here tonight Britney but…" Britney scooped the redhead up in her arms immediately and walked out the door.

"You don't have to stay there ever again if you don't want to Willow." She said, placed her in the truck and kissed her forehead gently. "I'll take care of you to the best of my ability. I will give you the time you need to heal from this and I will love you for as long as humanly possible." The officer said softly, placed one more gentle kiss on Willow's forehead and then moved to start the truck.

- - - - - -

The sun shined through the window brightly that next morning. It gave a false sense of warmth both due to the cool winter breeze that was settling in and the happenings that were about to take place were anything but warm. As the breeze blew the branches of the big willow tree that was planted firmly outside Britney's bedroom window, Willow rolled over and snuggled in closer to her lover. She did not want to wake up and have to leave the security of Britney's arms nor face anymore possible trouble that might come their way.

As Willow's mind had decided to go back to sleep, a gentle kiss from her girlfriend prodded it to wake up. "Good morning Willow," Britney said softly and pulled her tightly into her arms. "Your mother was ringing your cell phone like crazy so I answered it. She said that it's important for you to return her call."

Willow groaned sleepily and returned the kiss. "Talking to my mother the first thing in the morning is the last thing I want to do." Willow said in a pouty voice and closed her eyes again.

"Well it's the last thing I want you to do too but if you hurry up and do that, we can find something more productive to do." Britney said as she kissed the tip of Willow's nose and then got up from the bed. "I'll go make you a nice cup of hot chocolate to awaken your senses while you take care of your mom," Britney said with a smile and left the room.

As she was pouring the hot drink in the glasses, her phone rang. "Hello," Britney said in a hesitant manner as she saw the caller ID.

"Officer Walsh, this is Lieutenant Peters and we are going to need to have a conversation about officer Riley Finn."

"Yes sir, of course. I have yet to submit a detailed report on the events of last night but can meet with you at your earliest convenience." Britney said and the lieutenant took note that there was neither fear nor hesitancy in her voice.

"I will review your report before we speak officer Walsh but I must tell you this. Another officer has reported that you gunned officer Finn down in cold blood."

Britney didn't flinch at all when the man finished speaking. She suspected that Graham would show his true colors at some point and figured now was as good a time as any. "With all do respect sir, I think it would be best if we met in person because there is extenuating circumstances that revolve around this case. I would rather not have some of the circumstances on paper. Colonel Samuel Wade should also be at this meeting if you can arrange it?" Britney questioned with a confidence in her voice that impressed the Lieutenant.

"I will get back to you officer Walsh but let me advise you of this, if he was gunned down you could be looking at very serious federal charges." The Lieutenant decided to see if he could crack the woman's armor.

"I am very aware of the charges that could be thrown at me sir," Britney said calmly and the two ended the call.

As Britney stood lost in thought of what could happen to her, Willow came down the stairs. She knew that the military was good at putting forward a scapegoat to cover up things and feared that she might be said scapegoat. She didn't even notice Willow come up to her until the redhead put a shaky hand on her arm. As she looked at Willow, she saw the tears form in the teen's eyes. "What's wrong Willow?" Britney asked in a soothing tone, instantly putting her own troubles on the backburner.

"My mother has given me some choices and they aren't good," Willow said and broke into an all out sob fest. "She said that my new lifestyle is tampering with their social status and if I don't stop it, I have to leave the house. She also said that she would turn you in to the military as being lesbian if I didn't call it off with you."

Though Britney's face didn't show it, the worry within her grew by leaps and bounds. The military was her career of choice ever since she could remember and it could all be ended because she was a lesbian. Not to mention the little problem of shooting Riley Finn in Willow's front yard could hamper any chance that she might have at moving up in the ranks of the military. Hell that could destroy any chance that she might have at living a normal life ever again, was her line of thinking as she pulled Willow into her arms. "Willow, I love you so much and am not willing to give you up because of some threat by your pissed off mom." Britney spoke with a false confidence as she kissed the tears from Willow's cheeks. "We'll get through this, I promise." She said and stroked Willow's face with her thumb as she continued to kiss her.

"Britney I love you but I don't want to be the cause of your career getting ruined." Willow said as the tears threatened to spill again.

"You won't be Willow," Britney said in a reassuring tone. "I'll sort this all out and, in the meantime, you can just stay here with me." She added and kissed her lover once more.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

A/N thanks for the reviews

Chapter 13

Britney sat waiting for her superiors to join her in what she hoped would not be a firing line. She had thought things over extensively and come to some decisions. She could only pray that Willow and her friends would understand why she chose this course of action and why she had kept a secret from them this long. As the superior officers came into the conference room that had been set up, Britney's fears of Willow not being able to handle her keeping yet another secret began to surface. She momentarily second guessed her decision before deciding that one must take a gamble or two in life.

"Officer Walsh," colonel Wade greeted her with no emotion showing on his face at all. "I've been briefed as to the situation and read your brief report on the things that your aunt botched up."

"I see," Britney said cryptically and mirrored the look of no emotion that colonel Wade was sporting.

"Lieutenant Peters is wanting to push for charges being filed but I do not wish for the details of the initiative to get out into the hands of the public." The man continued and finally showed a sign of uncertainty on his face.

"So you all want me to take the fall in order to save face for the military and keep the rest quiet?" Britney asked with a hint of mock laughter in her voice. "How about I offer you this deal, I get an honorable discharge in exchange for my silence."

"You have got to be kidding me young lady!" The lieutenant barked with fury in his eyes.

"No, and as a matter of fact, it is the only deal that I am willing to give. I have the records from my aunt and others. I won't be ruined because the American military is in the mood to bully someone around. Take the deal or I talk and then risk going to a federal prison." Britney's eyes showed a stony look as she spoke bravely to the two men.

"I am willing to take the deal." Colonel Wade answered all to quickly for the lieutenant's liking. "Dismissed lieutenant Peters." He added with a briskness in his voice that left no room for discussion. "Now Ms. Walsh, I have another deal to offer you."

- - - -

Willow sat nervously at a small diner waiting for Britney to return from her meeting. She had told Willow that she was certain that everything would work out for her but Willow had her doubts. One never knew what could happen when the government was involved and Willow was frightened that Britney would be taken from her forever. As the tears began to fall, Britney walked into the diner. "It's all good Willow." She said and hugged her girlfriend tightly.

"What happened? Can you discuss it here?" Willow asked in a tense yet excited manner, as she wiped her eyes and put on a smile that could have reached across California.

"Yes I can discuss it here but am waiting for Buffy." Britney said, smiled and then kissed Willow. "There are some things that she needs to know too." She added and then ordered some lunch for the three of them, as Buffy walked in with Harmony.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Buffy asked with a smile on her face, as Willow looked between the two teens.

"Before we get into all the serious stuff from Britney, what's going on with you guys?" Willow questioned with a hint of dismay in her voice. She had wondered but now it was all but confirmed from the pair.

"We're officially a couple Will." Buffy said bluntly and put her arm around the cheerleader.

"I can't picture it is all." Willow said and shook her head. "Not that it's bad or anything, it's just that, well, that's Harmony." She said and realized how stupid that sounded.

"I know but she's really not so bad. Listen, have you spoke with Xander since well…" Buffy trailed off and looked around the room. She felt bad for bringing up the subject but wanted to know if Willow had any inkling of trying to fix things with her former best friend.

"No and I really don't want too." Willow said and sighed heavily. "I miss him Buffy but I don't think that we could ever go further then acquaintances after what he's done."

Buffy noted the sadness in Willow's eyes and voice. Though she wished that things could have worked out differently, she knew that could not happen now. Xander had gone to far, too many times and there was no way that Willow could regain the trust she once had in him. "Can't say that I blame you really." Buffy said sadly, as Harmony put her hand on Buffy's knee to show her understanding of Buffy's loss.

"I hate to break up the chit chat but I have some things to do this afternoon." Britney said and placed a small kiss on Willow's lips. She wished that she could make all of her pain go away and hoped that, after today, at least some of the fears would be gone.

"Sorry," Buffy said and sipped her drink, as Britney withdrew two sheets of paper.

"I found these in aunt Maggie's things." Britney began to speak somberly as she hated to tell the girls how their trusted leader had reacted over these papers. "There is a problem with the slayer line." She continued to speak as she now had their full attention.

She told the girls how Faith's death was calculated because of a glitch in the slayer line, which Xander had unknowingly created. If at any time, caused by human intervention, there are two living slayers it would create a rift in the line. After two slayers have died, the remaining slayer would be the only slayer to be available for seven years and four months. She told them that the papers did not state why this was the case but Buffy had several years to be the only living slayer and if she were to die, the hellmouth and world would go unprotected until the time in which a new slayer could be called.

As she looked around at the horrified expressions on Buffy and Willow's faces, she continued to speak again. "Willow, your mom cannot threaten us anymore because I am no longer employed by the US military. I am, however, employed by the US government to protect the slayer at all costs. So Buffy is the body guard to the world and I am hers to put it simply." Britney added, which brought troubled smiles to the group's faces. "There is more," she continued and told them about Giles' bad behavior where the papers were concerned.

- - - - - -

Britney arrived home just after sunset that evening. Willow had been catching up on her school work and ordered a pizza for them to eat for dinner. "Hey Willow," Britney said and kissed her girlfriend. "You all have a good talk after I left?"

"Buffy doesn't like the idea of having someone looking over her shoulder all the time but if it has to be this way, she is glad its you." Willow said with a faint smile on her face, as Britney opened a soft drink and sat next to her.

"Well I thought it was best that she know what she's up against." Britney said and took a slice of pizza from the box. "What about you? Are you okay with me not telling this when I first found out?" Britney asked as the two ate their food.

"Yes I totally understand that you needed to get the other stuff out of the way." Willow said and took another slice of pizza. "Britney, what about what you did for us. I mean, do you have any regrets about leaving the military?"

"Not one ameba sized regret Willow." Britney said, leaned over and kissed the redhead firmly. "I love you and want to share my life with you. I know that we're both young and have long lives filled with choices and crossroads ahead of us but I want us to share them all."

"I love you too Britney." Willow said and finished her drink. "Wanting to be with you is the only thing that I am sure of completely."

Britney stood up and pulled the redhead into her arms. "We've been through so much in our short time together Willow." She said and began kissing her in between words. "We've made it so far and that gives me hope that, if we can get through the hell we've gone through already, we can get through anything."

"I believe that too Britney. I feel safe, secure and loved with you." Willow said and began returning the kisses, as Britney began to rub her lower back slowly.

"Do you need some more time Willow or would you be comfortable with us making love?" Britney asked and kissed the redhead more passionately.

"I think that's the perfect way to seal the deal on starting over." Willow said, as the former officer scooped her up into her arms and headed for the bedroom.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Willow stood in horror as to what was being proposed. She was all to aware of the fact that Britney was to protect the slayer at all cost and had done so for the last two years. She had sat at Britney's bedside during three short stays at the hospital to prove just how aware she was of her lover's job. For over two years, Buffy did her job and Britney was by her side as Willow continued onto college and helped them whenever she could. She never complained nor tried to stop Britney from doing her job but was about to do so now.

She felt as if their love was second to Britney's job with this crazy decision that she was trying to make. All the nights of love making and comforting each other whenever they would be rudely bashed on occasion and the happy memories meant nothing when it came to doing her job. There was no way that Willow was going to allow Britney to take Buffy's place on that tower, just as Buffy refused to allow Dawn to take her place on it and planned to do it herself.

"Britney, I won't let you leave me like this." Willow said, as the tears flooded down her face faster then a large pipe that had burst could spew water.

"Willow, we don't have much time and I cannot allow the world to be without a slayer. You don't want to lose your friend either and I know that." Britney pleaded with the love of her life and choked back tears of her own. She didn't want to go through with this either because of her love for Willow but knew what the consequences would be if she let Buffy take a dive off the tower.

"You don't have Summers blood and I won't help with the spell that Giles found!" Willow shouted and grabbed hold of Britney's hands. "Please don't leave me Britney." She wailed and the look on her face mirrored the agony in her voice.

"Willow," Britney spoke softly and pulled the redhead into her arms. "I don't want to leave you, God knows that but I want to keep you and everyone else safe. I see no other choice and I am deeply sorry for that." Britney said and tried to kiss Willow, who pulled away sharply.

"Buffy won't let you do this and you know it!" Willow shouted, as Britney tried to steady her trembling body.

"Buffy's not gonna have a choice Willow. Giles has everything ready. Now please, let's spend some time together in love rather than fighting before I have to…" Britney could not say those last words because she knew that she would break down and didn't want Willow to see that. Her heart was shattering into a million pieces for what she was about to do but couldn't come up with another solution. "Please Willow, don't push me away now." Britney begged, as the redhead moved away from her.

"Willow, you know that if Buffy dies, we are all at to great a risk of dying. There is too much time between now and when a new slayer is to be activated. I know you went and begged Buffy not to do this too Willow. Someone has to though and there is nothing that we can do about it." Britney said and pulled her girlfriend close. "I just want you to know that I love you more then anything and have been so blessed to 8have you in my life." Britney said and was glad when Willow allowed her to place several gentle kisses on her trembling lips.

- - - -

As Britney stood on the tower and Spike dragged Dawn away, Willow sobbed into the nearest shoulder that she could find. She had tried to stop Giles from having Britney drink the potion that was mixed with Buffy's blood and prayed that Buffy would wake up in time to stop the madness. Buffy had been knocked out cold at the last second possible during the battle by Spike. She had been lead to believe by Giles that she would make the sacrifice but they managed to catch her off guard just as she was about to head up the tower.

"Will," came Xander's sorrow-filled voice. "I am so sorry that I didn't trust her to begin with. I just wish that I could tell her that." The man's shoulders shook and the tears fell from his eyes.

"I've got to stop her!" Willow shouted but Xander gripped her tightly, as she screamed for Britney to change her mind and Dawn tried to break free from Spike.

As an enraged slayer tore towards the tower faster then she had ever moved before, the former officer jumped and all was still as the night. "God no!" Buffy shouted and heard Willow's guttural cries, as her own tears fell. "I am the fucking slayer! I am the one who is supposed to save everyone, not be saved damn it!" Buffy shouted and glared at Giles with a murderous look in her eyes.

As Buffy shouted, Xander released Willow and she ran to her fallen lover's side. She knelt down and kissed Britney's hand, as her legs finally gave out and she lie flat on the ground next to the battered and bloodied woman. "Why did you leave me Britney?" She said in such a soft voice that only Spike could hear her. "I don't want to live one day on this earth without you baby." Willow continued speaking, as her body jerked violently with the hard sobs that were coming from her.

"Mate she's breathing!" Spike said and jumped to his feet. "She's fucking breathing! There is a faint pulse, somebody get your ass in gear and do something!"

- - - -

Willow sat by Britney's bedside for the next four days, with no sign of the woman waking up. She had learned from Giles that he put a little extra in the potion to hopefully aid in Britney's survival, though the chance was slim to none for a recovery. Though she was grateful to him for doing that, she was still enraged at the measures they had taken to save Buffy. On the other hand, she was glad that they went to such great lengths to save Buffy because she honestly didn't know what she would do without her friend either. "Will," Xander, who had been very supportive through it all, said and handed her a sandwich. "You've got to keep your strength up and I got you some clothes too."

"She might wake up and me not be here." Willow said to let him know that she wasn't leaving the room. "Thanks for the food."

"Will, you have to keep your strength up or you won't be able to help her if she does wake up." Xander offered in as soothing a manner as he could.

"There is no if Xander!" Willow shouted and held Britney's hand tightly. "She will wake up, do you hear me?"

Though Xander knew she had virtually no chance of waking up, he agreed to keep the redhead's anger to a minimum. "Just leave us alone," Willow said, as Britney's eyes fluttered open.

"Oh thank God!" Xander shouted with relief in his voice and ran to tell the others.

The tears sprung from Willow's eyes for what seemed the millionth time in the last few days, as she kissed Britney's good hand. The only difference was, they were finally happy tears that she was shedding. "Britney, can you talk, see, hear and all that good stuff? The doctor's said that you should not have survived and would have all sorts of damage but I just knew that you would be okay for the most part."

Willow was relieved to see Britney smile at her babbling because that told her that she could see, remembered her and could hear. "I think everything's broken," Britney managed to force the words out of her mouth, as she listened to the machines hum.

"I love you so much Britney." Willow whispered and placed a gentle kiss on Britney's lips, as they seemed to be the only thing that weren't hooked up to something or bruised.

"I love you too Willow." Britney said and placed her good hand on Willow's face. "I will spend the rest of my life showing you just how much." She said, as she returned Willow's kiss and then closed her eyes again for more rest.

End.


End file.
